


The Rough

by Pass1onAndH0pe



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Gen, Harlockshipping - Freeform, M/M, References to Abuse, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-01
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-03-25 10:57:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 81,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13832718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pass1onAndH0pe/pseuds/Pass1onAndH0pe
Summary: This fic is being written in a sorta heat of the moment type situation so expect updates to take a while.But other than that this is where Cyrus and Guzma meet and get together. For a frame of setting for each; Guzma has just dealt with the Rainbow Rocket situation and is visiting Po Town with Plumeria. Cyrus has been trapped in the Distortion World for a (roughly estimated) length of time. Not that he knows how long.





	1. Ascension / Gravitation

There existed no entrances or exits. Not as far as he knew, anyway, or cared to know. In this world where time didn’t flow and space wasn’t stable it was him. Cyrus and the pokémon that lived there before him, Giratina, although they kept their distances from each other. He had only seen it a few times, although knowing exactly when and where was impossible. His most frequent memories were had to recall; in total everything felt like one long day with a vague midday. He never knew how much humans relied on the outside world to tell time. Or had relied on time itself.

He had been taking a rest, the only thing he cared to do anymore, when a nonexistent breeze brushed past. Wind didn’t exist here so it could have only been Giratina. Cyrus opened his eyes expecting to see nothing but the fathomless sky and irregular patches of matter. And yet, a little ways off, there was a spiraling circle in midair. He stared at the exit as if it were a trick although Giratina had never pulled one. Anything could be cruel given the circumstances.

The portal did not vanish. He pulled himself up on his feet to approach. It remained in place with indistinct lights and sounds echoing from it. After standing for a short while, or maybe a long while, he prodded his hand through it and cautiously stepped through.

 

“I’m tellin’ ya, Plumes, the place was _full_ of weirdos.”

Plumeria rolled her eyes. The story had been rehashed twice in the last few hours. Guzma had come back from the adventure at Aether full of stories. Most of them belonged to Moon but that didn’t stop Guzma. They walked into Po Town greeting a pair of Skull Grunts at the entrance in passing.

“I heard ya the first time, Guz.”

“Yeah, but I’m not getting’ over it. Not by a _long shot_ , Plumes. I can’t believe there’s these guys who think that-“

Plumeria started to tune Guzma out midsentence. They were walking side by side down the main street. The truck that used to sit in the middle had been moved so when Plumeria saw someone there she squinted. She had begun to frown but Guzma was too busy.

“Guz.”

“-Just ‘cause they got a team, some _science_ , some money, some-“

“ _Guz._ ”

“-And some sorta _legendary pokemon_ they can just do what they want.”

Plumeria elbowed him hard in the ribcage. Guzma stopped walking and started to snap at her when he noticed Plumeria nodding forward. He turned to look at whatever was in front of them.

A man stood in the center of the main street. He was letting himself get soaked in the rain which constantly fell in Po Town. Thunder and lightning clashed overhead but the stranger didn’t move. He stayed stock still as if he depended on it. If that wasn’t weird enough, he had the strangest space get-up on; black clothes with a silver vest which looked battered.

Guzma darted a look over his shoulder at the gates. When he faced forward again he narrowed his eyes. Plumeria had crossed her arms.

“Are the grunts just lettin’ _anybody_ into this place now? Hey! Hey _you!_ ”

The stranger tilted his head down from where it had been facing skyward. Using a pale hand he scraped blue bangs away from his eyes and smoothed back the rest of his spiked hair. The cold stare of his blue eyes reminded Guzma of Nanu’s for some reason despite the color difference. Maybe it was the emptiness in his face.

“How’d you get in here? Huh? Answer me!” Guzma bristled.

The stranger kept regarding them in silence. Guzma opened his mouth to keep going when he interrupted first.

“What year is it?”

“201X,” replied Plumeria straight off. Guzma cocked his head to the side to question her when she cut him off. In a whisper out of the corner of her mouth, “ _Just play along._ ”

The stranger absorbed the information. Or, Guzma guessed he did, this guy had a face cut like a rock. Hard, emotionless, angular, he gave Nanu a good run for his rugged looks. The stranger muttered something to himself though it couldn’t be heard through the storm.

“Where is this?” He spoke up louder.

Plumeria stayed quiet so Guzma decided he should reply.

“Po Town.” Plumeria punched him in the arm. He resisted grumbling and went on to say, “Ula’Ula Island, Alola Region.”

The stranger adopted a look of vague surprise. He started to stare off to the side at one of the vacant houses. Guzma twitched in place itching to kick this weirdo off his turf. Probably should pawn him over to Nanu for trespassing as ironic as it sounded.

Then, the stranger fell to one knee. It was such a sudden collapse Guzma had to stare a few extra seconds to register it had happened. Plumeria had already walked and knelt by him to see what was going on when Guzma walked over.

“Hey, hey, hey, take it easy,” she said bracing the stranger’s shoulder against her hand.

“Nine years,” was the last thing he said before all the strength went out of him. The stranger slumped and Plumeria had to catch him before he fell over. Guzma leaned down as Plumeria adjusted her hold on the guy.

“And now what?”

“ _Now,_ we help him. C’mon, help me get him into the house.”

Guzma turned up the corner of his mouth and raised an eyebrow.

“Are you serious? This guy’s _obviously_ nuts.”

“An’ he’s passed out on our turf, Guzma. What was all that earlier about bein’ a good guy an’ feeling better for it?”

She fixed him with a glare and Guzma straightened back up. He couldn’t deny what she said. Though, he’ll always be big bad Guzma the good guy stuff at Aether had felt right, too.  


They hoisted and carried the stranger between them towards the direction of Shady House. Not before long a girl Skull Grunt came out to see what was happening.

“Yo, boss, what’s with the space man?”

Guzma replied from between his teeth.

“Go get Nanu and tell him it’s _urgent_.”

“You got it, boss!”

The grunt scampered off at the bite in Guzma’s tone. After getting the stranger into the house they found an empty bedroom on the second floor. They rearranged the beds for easier access and laid him down in it. The move didn’t take much effort, even wet the guy didn’t weigh that much.

“Strip him.”

Guzma shot Plumeria a look. She rolled her eyes in response.

“ _Of his wet clothes,_ you dummy. I’m gonna go find some towels and clean clothes.”

“Are you kidding? What am I a _nurse?_ ”

“Guzma.” Her glare was meant to remind him of what she said earlier. They glared at each other a while before Plumeria left the room. Guzma sighed and tried to finish his task as quick as possible without thinking about it too much.

A while later and between them, Guzma and Plumeria had dried off the stranger and piled him on with blankets to ward off the chill. Plumeria had asked around for a simple change of clothes which were left on a nightstand due to Guzma’s prior reaction.

Also placed on the nightstand were five poké balls Guzma found and decided to leave alone. After all the work Nanu showed up on the bottom floor of Shady House. Some of the grunts loitered around the main entrance to watch.

“It’s not often you call just for company,” Nanu started off in his usual sardonic fashion. Guzma didn’t feel like having any of it.

“You’ll just gotta see for yourself.” He gestured back behind him and all three of them went up to the bedroom. Nanu allowed himself to walk in first. Guzma saw how his attention was drawn to the discarded pile of clothes.

“He was just out there in the rain asking about what year it was and where he was. Totally off the walls to me, but then he just knocked out.”

As he talked Nanu studied the silver vest. For the first time, Guzma noticed the strange yellow “G” emblazoned onto its left side. Nanu looked from it to the face of the sleeping stranger.

“He’s been knocked out solid.” Nanu tilted his head to one side which Guzma took as a sign. “You got any idea who he is?”

Nanu turned around and threw on his sarcastic smile. Guzma squinted since the reaction didn’t bode well for any of them.

“Well, it’s been a few years since I looked at the case files, but-“

“The _what_ files?”

Nanu started again after Guzma’s interruption.

“But you might just be looking at the missing leader of the once so great and powerful Team Galactic.”

Nah. No, no, no way was this happening in his town. Guzma shook his head in silence. He felt the urge to lash out.

“Are you sure, Nanu?” Plumeria asked being the calmer of the two.

“I’d need to go ask around, but the emblem matches up. Of course he could be some runaway, or one of the commanders, or something, but I can check for sure.”

“Please do,” Plumeria added with a sigh. The matter settled somewhat they all left the room.

 

Cyrus opened his eyes to find a roof over his head. At least, it took him a second to figure out it was a roof and not the Distortion World’s endless skies. He searched with his eyes to see what else there was.

The lights in the room had been dimmed by some means. The walls didn’t look exactly clean but they weren’t dilapidated like they could be. He could hear rain pattering outside and it made his fingers twitch. They were only a little stiff from cold; Cyrus couldn’t remember the last time he had been doused in rain.

He heaved a sigh and faced the roof again. A distinct pop came from near his left. There was the rustle of feathers, a shift of weight on the bed, and a soft _kraw_. Cyrus sat up and saw his honchkrow had perched by his side. Seeing it manage to make a worried expression relaxed him. His mood darkened again as he remembered the circumstances of when they last faced each other.

Cyrus considered what he could say; apologize to his pokémon for not releasing it more often in Distortion World or apologize for the multitude of other things. To be back in the real world still daunted him he realized. Time’s passage would slowly catch up to him, and in his thoughts which had stagnated in the Distortion World.

He withdrew his arm from underneath the blankets and lightly stroked the honchkrow’s breast feathers. It crowed in response and ruffled its wings in a sign of pleasure.  


Both of them glanced at the door when they heard approaching footsteps. Cyrus took back his arm and feigned sleep. His honchkrow turned to face the door.

“Oh, well, look at this,” said a female voice. It was the woman from before. His honchkrow crowed loudly and had spread its wings judging by the shift in weight.

“Calm down, I’m not here to hurt him. See this,” she paused for a few seconds, “it’s just hot chocolate. I’m gonna set it down, see?”

She took careful footsteps forward. The mug was set down close by on the nightstand. She took the same careful footsteps back.

“I’m workin’ on something more substantial but it was the quickest thing I could make, ‘kay?” She explained. Cyrus heard the doorknob being jostled. “I’ll be back.”

The door opened and closed. Cyrus opened his eyes and sat up again. His honchkrow turned around and puffed out its chest in a prideful manner. He carefully stroked its head plumage and reached for the mug of hot chocolate. Cyrus stared down at it pondering of how long he had gone without drink.

 

“Ya gonna save any of that stew for us?” Guzma asked Plumeria when she had reached the bottom step.

“If there’s any left, Guz. But I’ll think about it.”

He threw up his hands and shrugged with a crooked smile. Plumeria went to continue her way to the kitchen when the front door to Shady House opened. Nanu had come back.

“Yo, any news on sleeping beauty?” Guzma asked soon as he stepped in. He felt antsy for some reason. Maybe it was caused by everything that had happened at Aether; while he hadn’t exactly fought with any of the weirdos something about this situation seemed too similar. Like, maybe he shouldn’t have said he wanted to fight one of them so much to Moon. Or that he shouldn’t have boasted about being a good guy to Plumeria.

“Yeah, I got a hit. Is he awake?”

“I think so,” said Plumeria. Guzma whipped his head around in surprise.

“His honchkrow’s out of its poké ball.”

“A _honchkrow?_ ” Guzma realized the disdain in his voice. “No ‘ffense Nanu.”

The officer shrugged in reaction. Guzma held a dislike for flying type trainers. It had been a large part of his bitter childhood, and he still wasn’t in the mood to start letting go of it. If this guy wanted to start off on the wrong foot he was ahead of the game.

“Well, let’s go up to see him then,” said Nanu starting towards the stairs. Guzma interrupted him again.

“ _Wait,_ you haven’t even said who this guy is yet.”

“Oh, right. It turns out I was right; your “guy” is Cyrus the previous leader of Team Galactic in Sinnoh I should mention.”

Sinnoh. Guzma hadn’t exactly been the best at geography, but the place sounded farther away than Kanto. He tried to sort through what this meant when Plumeria walked up. She held a steaming bowl in her hands with a spoon already ladled inside.

“We goin’?” After she gestured they all walked back up the staircase. Guzma couldn’t help feeling like this was an out of body experience. All of this happening right now in one day? Can’t a guy catch a break? Not that he wasn’t made of tough stuff but this felt off.

Plumeria opened the door. Sleeping Beauty was sitting up and had his legs over the side of the bed. The blankets had been shoved off to one side to make room for his honchkrow it seemed like. He wore the clothes Plumeria had found; a plain black sweater and sweat pants both of which appeared to hang off him. Did he have any meat on his bones?  


Cyrus had been in the middle of drinking the Tapu Cocoa when they entered. His gaze examined each of them in turn. The way he did it made part of Guzma uncomfortable. Like those cold eyes could see right through and into him. It would have been his saving grace as a team leader.

“Name?” Nanu asked once the door had been closed. The bluntness of the question distracted Guzma from his discomfort. Nanu was falling into step about his police business.

“Cyrus,” he answered after a long pause. What did he need to think about with such a simple question?

“Do you know where you are?”

“Ula’Ula Island, Alola Region,” Cyrus quoted after a shorter pause. Guzma stuck his hands into his pants pockets. He was beginning to get antsy again.

“You know you’re about three to four airplane flights from Sinnoh? On a good day?”

Cyrus‘s expression refused to emote any surprise at the statement. He sipped from the mug and let his gaze drop.

“And you know you’re still wanted for the ordeal Team Galactic put Sinnoh through nine years ago?”

The mug jerked slightly in his grasp. Very slightly, it’s a good thing Guzma didn’t blink.

“Ha. Relax, kid.” Guzma could hear the smirk in Nanu’s voice. “The search for you went to being a cold case years ago. And it’s not like anyone here in Alola’s gonna recognize you.”

Cyrus drained the rest of the mug’s contents and set it aside. His honchkrow picked up on the vibe and drew itself to full height. It eyed them all as Cyrus spoke at Nanu directly.

“What is the purpose of this?”

Nanu shifted from leaning on one foot to the other.

“Just needed your attention. And you need to understand you’ve been gone a long while. Where exactly I’m not gonna guess except from what’s in the report.” Nanu pulled a crumpled piece of copy paper from his pocket. “You were last seen at the Spear Pillar attempting to control the legendary pokémon Dialga and Palkia. You managed to do it until another few legendaries showed up. Then you disappeared off the face of the earth as far as the International Police know.”

Guzma side eyed the back of Nanu’s head. He knew the kahuna had connections but the International Police was big. How had that slipped by? Well, not like it mattered much anymore. Guzma put his eyes back on Cyrus who spoke again.

“Where I was taken you wouldn’t understand. Not unless you had been among the few that have been there.”

Cyrus examined them all again as if to assert none of them were among his so called “few.” He looked at Nanu when he finished.

“So, you have me at your mercy. What will you do?”  


Guzma gripped his hands into fists. All the nonsense he had heard from the weirdos earlier came back to him. It made him tense to think one of those sat right there. He felt Plumeria dart a look in his direction. Nanu scratched at his head.

“Honestly, there’s no real point in turning you in now. The Team Galactic you left behind has undergone some changes. It’s one of the leading innovators of alternative energy research in Sinnoh, according to what I found.” Nanu handed over the paper to Cyrus who took it without glancing at it.

“I think if you’re here, of all places in the world to turn up, then maybe it’s your second chance. Try to actually live this time.”

Guzma straightened his posture. He felt anger flush under his skin and spread throughout his system.

“Nanu, are you meanin’ to tell me somethin’?”

Nanu turned around. They had had their share of arguments before. So it was no surprise Nanu remained unfazed by his outburst. Guzma knew and still started to boil.

“Guzma. There isn’t exactly anywhere else in Alola to get better acclimatized-“

“ _Are you shovin’ this off on me?_ After everythin’ I’ve been doin’ lately?” Guzma grit his teeth and he could feel fingernails biting into his palms. “I might still own this joint but just ‘cause it’s got the reputation that it do-“

“As _kahuna_ I’m telling you-“ Guzma snarled at Nanu’s interruption- “Plumeria, and the remnants of Team Skull, are charged with looking after this guy.”

“Until I can work out an alternative,” Nanu added as he walked past Guzma to the door. Guzma turned to follow but his feet didn’t move. Hearing the title of kahuna being invoked sucked the bite out of his bark. Much of the need for lashing out left him but there were embers.

Nanu left Shady House without another word. Guzma busied himself glaring a hole through the door of the bedroom. Plumeria moved forward to hand the bowl of stew off to Cyrus. She came back to give a light touch on Guzma’s forearm.

“ _That_ Nanu.”

“C’mon Guz.” She guided him to the door and pulled it open for him to walk through. Guzma had gotten to the point of looking through the door itself.

 

Cyrus mulled over the paper’s content as he ate. He didn’t want to put the stew down; after tasting it he realized his hunger. The paper was a brief article on Galactic Industries a company built on researching better and cleaner energy alternatives. Cyrus read it slow in order to absorb all of what he was reading.

The article noted some advances and breakthroughs throughout time here and there. It promoted itself to aim toward the betterment of the Sinnoh region which still relied on coal for energy. The company retained the old Team Galactic symbol. Cyrus thought of his old clothes which had been taken away.

The head of the company was Saturn who had turned thirty-four recently. There was no picture of him provided in the article. Cyrus attempted to imagine with closed eyes. Saturn would be taller, perhaps, with signs of wear on his face from diligence at work. He might have a different hairstyle or resting expression. Cyrus tried to apply all the changes but to no avail. He could only see the youth following eagerly behind him, eyes alight with wonder, and so eager to call him _Master Cyrus._

His honchkrow moved closer to be seated his side. Cyrus snapped open his eyes to break the reverie. At a fine time too for the door had opened once again. The woman, Plumeria as she was called, walked through and closed it with her foot. She held two bowls in her hands and had a nonplussed expression. Her eyes were a clear-cut yellow, and their directness reminded him of someone. The name escaped his memory.

Plumeria’s attention was drawn to his honchkrow which eyed her with suspicion like before. Cyrus put the paper off to the side with care.

“I brought food just like last time, you,” she said to it. It ruffled its feathers in response. Plumeria looked to him next. “Here.”

She stepped forward and, after he had set aside the half eaten bowl of stew, took another full bowl and a bowl of pokémon food. His honchkrow stood up in surprise and crowed as the food was laid down for him to peck through. Cyrus didn’t speak and instead concentrated on the heat filtering through his hands. Plumeria walked over to a stray chair and sat. He didn’t know what to make of the situation so he finished his first bowl before eating the second.

Cyrus lost track of how long she had sat there in silence. The rain didn’t fall as heavy as it did earlier. When she broke the silence it broke like ice.

“I was expectin’ more questions but alright.”

To Cyrus it felt impolite to not carry on the conversation. At least, now that he knew he would be confined, no, meant to stay here for a time.

“Questions on what exactly?”

“Alola’s a pretty unique place. Figured you would wanna be filled in before I ‘unno culture shock happened,” Plumeria said with a shrug. “One of my friends is a foreigner who moved here from Kanto. She’s been pointin’ out differences to me for a while now.”

Cyrus ate more stew before continuing with questions. Plumeria went on to explain in blunt terms about the islands, the traditions, the kahunas, and the people’s unique relationship with pokémon.

“Y’know it’s only recently we got ourselves a Pokémon League.”

“You had no one to call Champion beforehand?” Cyrus asked after a pause. The word brought a hazy image to mind; a woman who had refuted his past claims with passion. Someone heartfelt. _But, that's no justice at all!_ He blinked the memory away as Plumeria responded.

“Nah. It wasn’t that big of a deal to defeat all the kahunas in the retrials on Mount Lanakila. But we got ourselves a Champion now.” There was the faintest smile on her face as she said so.

Cyrus mused over the information as he finished the last bowl of stew. Alola seemed a curious place, and she had been right in how different it sounded from Sinnoh. And yet he felt a hollow doubt echo in his mind.

“Why would you tell me all of this?”

Plumeria closed her eyes in thought.

“I don’t know what it’s like to be left behind. I’ve always been a mover, moving myself wherever I feel like goin’. But I’ve seen people deal with it. In all kinds of ways.”

As if to punctuate the point Cyrus heard a distant thud from somewhere else in the house. Thunder grumbled overhead although the rain had remained light. Plumeria opened her eyes and stood up from the chair.

“Not that Alola’s a do or die kinda place. But if people get to thinkin’ like that it’s hard to stop.”

She stepped over and took the bowls from him. Satisfied with its meal his honchkrow settled back down at his side. Cyrus tried to keep himself from responding to her words. They were stirring things he had been trying to forget.

“Anyway, night tough boy.”

Plumeria turned and deftly opened the door while balancing her load. The silence that followed the click of the latch falling into place felt heavy.

Cyrus glanced at the paper. From his other side honchkrow prodded at him with a wing. He stroked its head plumage absentmindedly. It seemed the reality of the situation had sunk in. He was free of the Distortion World moored in a region where he was unknown and with no team. No relations of any sort beyond the ones that had taken him in under orders.

The discomfort of the entire scenario brought forth the bitter tasting emotions Cyrus had tried so hard to repress. It had become easy to do so in the Distortion World where things never changed. Here they remerged like reopened wounds. He would have to sort through them all again.

In seconds, Cyrus felt them welling up worse and worse. Before he lost sight to tunnel vision completely, he reached toward the nightstand where his poké balls had been sitting. He grabbed them and clutched them all close to his chest. As Cyrus fell prey to tears his honchkrow pressed itself close to his side. Despite it all he didn’t feel desire for their pity or their comfort. Every mixed emotion seemed to cancel out at once.

 

Guzma huffed and wiped sweat from under his chin. Tired out he went over towards the throne, ascended, and sat sideways. He felt better after smashing some glass and giving the wall a few new paint smears. With a single hand Guzma scooped up his laptop from the floor nearby, opened it, and clicked to open the browser.

His bedroom door opened and he looked over to see Plumeria. She let the door close by itself which wasn’t a good sign.

“Guz, we need to talk.”

Guzma sighed and rolled his eyes.

“What about? That guy?”

“Yeah _that guy._ ”

“Can’t we just…leave him alone?”

Plumeria took a few threatening steps towards him. He sat up from his comfortable slouch. She wasn’t taking what Nanu said about this lightly which was typical. It annoyed him but he pushed back on the annoyance.

“When he’s feeling more up to it you gotta take him places. Let him see Alola.”

“What the, is he a _rockruff?_ Does he need _walks?_ Plumes, listen to yourself!”

“I’m bein’ serious!”

The agitation in her voice made Guzma sit up more. He was confused now about her reaction.

“You an’ me both know you’re still the most intimidatin’ guy out there. So if you’re together no one’s gonna ask. An’ you know all the best secluded-“

“Those are my _bug huntin’_ spots, and you know that!”

“Yeah, that.” Plumeria stopped to take a breath. “Listen Guzma. Wherever that guy got sent off to it messed him up. Maybe he was messed up before, like you said some of those weirdos were, but he can’t just sit there and be kept like a pet. People like him would stay caged up forever an’ it’s not right.”

Guzma had heard Plumeria make these kinds of appeals before. They were rare, and they were usually about people who were actually in some kind of danger. He didn’t have a knack for seeing the dangers she saw. She hadn’t been wrong about them yet either. Had Cyrus given her a million red flags? Guzma twisted himself around on the throne to face her.

“Alright. I’ll take him out places and show him around. You gotta come some of those times, too, ‘cause we’re in this together. You and me, Plumes.” He said the last part with a crooked smile. She caught it and smiled back. It was how she showed relief.

“You’re gettin’ better at being the good guy, Guz.”

“Who says I wasn’t before?”

Plumeria shook her head and exited the bedroom. Guzma looked back at his laptop screen. He typed in a few words, clicked a link, and skimmed over a page which talked about Sinnoh myths.

_‘Sinnoh is said to be home to the legendary pokémon Dialga and Palkia. Dialga is said to be the master of time. Palkia is said to be the master of space. In recorded myth because of these two Matter itself came to be.’_

Guzma paused to consider what Nanu had said earlier about Cyrus. So he had tried to control both those pokémon? By himself? Guzma kept reading with a frown on his face.

_‘In the Sinnoh region there are three great lakes: Acuity, Valor, and Verity. Sleeping separately within those lakes are the legendary pokémon Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf. It is said that together these pokémon compose the human spirit, and keep Dialga and Palkia in balance.’_

This puzzle was just getting deeper. Understanding Cyrus would have to come from facing him head-on like Guzma tended to do with people anyway. He considered stopping himself from reading when his eye caught on the next line.

_‘In recent years, historians and mythologists have discovered the existence of a third pokémon who existed in tandem with Dialga and Palkia. Given the title of Renegade Pokémon rumor has it Giratina crossed over into our world from the alternate dimension where it dwells within the last ten years. Nothing can be confirmed at this time and it remains speculation.’_

Guzma stopped to reconsider the puzzle presented to him. It seemed too obvious, too easy of an answer. Cyrus stirs up Palkia and Dialga, Giratina comes along to wreck the show. There’s no way that could work, right? There had to be more to it. Guzma clicked off the page and shook his head. He whittled away a few hours before going to bed sometime in the early morning.

 

The first half of the next day he spent in his room. Eventually, after lunch, Plumeria figured out what he was doing. Guzma had been procrastinating in the usual way and resisted a groan when Plumeria opened the door.

“Guz.”

“ _Okay._ You got me.” He closed the laptop right off the bat. “What do I do?”

“Give ‘im a tour.”

“Makes sense,” Guzma said scrunching up part of his face for a second. He got off the throne and started toward the door. Plumeria let him pass by but stopped him before he went out.

“Oh and Guz. He’s the quiet type.”

“I _kinda_ picked up on that myself, Plumes.”

“The _real_ quiet type. Don’t make it weird, kay?”

Guzma rolled his eyes, held up a hand in acknowledgement, and went through the door completely. The room where Cyrus happened to be was on the other side of the house near Plumeria’s room.

The chandelier that had blocked the staircase before had been moved; a few grunts wanted to clean up the place and had. Guzma had been surprised about the effort but paid it no mind. Little things like that didn’t concern him anymore. He walked across to the door but paused.

What did Plumeria mean by not making it weird? He tried to pinpoint an exact reason why she would say that, but nothing came up. Before he hesitated too long outside the door Guzma shrugged it off. He went to grab the knob but paused again. Should he knock? Why would he knock? He had never knocked before just _open the door!_

Guzma opened the door. Cyrus caught his attention by not turning around. He still dressed the same as last night. His gaze was fixed outside the window near his bed to stare at the storm. Cyrus sat close to windowsill while on top of the bedcovers which were neatly made. Seemed he had taken a shower seeing his hair was sort of damp like yesterday.

A weavile sat itself across from Cyrus and was staring out the window as well. With the owner not looking Guzma eyed it suspiciously. Sneasel were more common among trainers than weavile, at least he had seen in Alola. Part of that had something to do with the difficulty in evolution. And it was a dark and ice type; was this guy really that into dark types?

The door closed itself on momentum and Guzma realized he hadn’t said anything. He had been taken in by the entire situation. Cyrus had not said anything either even though he should have heard the door.

So this is what Plumeria meant by quiet type. It wasn’t anything he was used to. Guzma considered his alternatives when a roll of thunder came from overhead. As if on cue Cyrus turned to look his way.

“Does it ever stop raining?”

It was an innocent enough question for someone new. Guzma tried to roll with it.

“Nah, it doesn’t. The rain and wind kinda comes and goes, but the thunder ‘n’ lightning stays. All the kids say it’s ‘cause of the Tapu but I don’t think any of ‘em could whip up a storm like this. Not their style.”

Cyrus looked at him with renewed interest. Or it should have been Guzma had to apply guesswork as to his facial expressions. They were very subtle.

Thunder rolled over the roof again with a flash from outside. The weavile still didn’t turn around which was weirding Guzma out on a certain level. They had a mean reputation and yet it sat still.

“Anyway.” Guzma nonchalantly scratched the back of his head. “Plumeria wanted me to give you the ole tour. Since, y’know, you’ll be here a while.”

Without a word Cyrus moved to the edge of the bed where his shoes had been placed. The action made his weavile start paying attention and it followed him off the bed. The tour reminded Guzma back when he had to introduce Shady House to new recruits. The nostalgia kept him on a steady track throughout the experience.

It served to also keep his mind off of how quiet Cyrus’s presence was. As they walked together he barely heard any tread in his step. Cyrus didn’t speak or comment either. It was like he left as little impact on the space he occupied. The weavile stayed out of its poké ball and took everything in with a judgmental sneer.

They arrived outside the front door to Shady House. Standing side by side Guzma gestured at the dual rows of houses.

“The houses are mostly empty an’ don’t have power to ‘em. Maybe if these grunts feel like it they can fix the place up. They don’t want my help on it so I’m lettin’ them be.”

Cyrus turned his head towards him for the first time.

“They don’t want your help?”

Guzma decided to reply not feeling like it was anything to hide.

“Yeah, after I disbanded the team they started, well some of them started, trying to do things themselves. I support my homies’ independence, yeah,” Guzma answered with a small nod of the head. In a way it was also a relief to not have to look after so many people’s needs. If someone came to him he would help. If anyone from Team Skull needed it Guzma would be there. That wouldn’t change for the world. Right now, though, he was focusing on himself.

Cyrus went back to staring out across the rain which lashed in the wind. Guzma let him have his strange ponderous moment. It had taken a total of thirty minutes or so but he was starting to get a read on Cyrus. Guzma put his hands on his hips adjusting to the mood.

At least, it was peaceful until he heard a pokémon cry from his feet. Guzma had moved his body to react, but he didn’t see what had happened. He was shoved off to one side by the sheer hulk of his golisopod. It appeared to push Guzma out of the way to struggle with another pokémon for some reason. Guzma stepped around and spotted the weavile.

 

Cyrus had woken that morning with a start. It took him several minutes to piece together the fact he wasn’t in the Distortion World anymore. Both honchkrow and weavile were asleep nearby on the bed. He remembered what had happened the night before and felt an emotion stab through him. Cyrus didn’t bother to label it.

The morning progressed slowly as he adjusted. He ate and showered; Plumeria said she would be finding him more clothes for his extended stay. He had asked her about the rain.  


In comparison to Guzma, Plumeria gave a brief response. Cyrus noted how Guzma mentioned the Tapu and the particular look in his eyes when he said so. He sensed a mixture of feelings all of a dark hue.

Not that Cyrus fared much better. Since coming back to reality his emotions felt more like shards. They each stabbed through him with their intensity and rawness. Being as it was giving them a label became laborious. The tour served to distract him from lingering on the ache.

Cyrus had seen the entire incident outside. He had noticed his weavile was feeling caged which was why he had let it stay out. It decided to strike at Guzma’s arm when neither of them was paying it much attention; Cyrus cursed himself for not being more aware. He couldn’t believe it possible, but it might have wanted to try picking a fight to make up for the one that had happened so long ago in real time.

“ _Hey, hey, hey,_ what’s this?” Guzma crouched from beside his pokémon. It looked like a large insect, the largest Cyrus could remember ever seeing. He couldn’t identify it so must have been native to the region. Weavile’s claws were being held back by the unknown pokémon’s own incredible pincers.

Before deciding to answer Cyrus tried to get an exact read on his weavile. The way it bristled and brandished its claws; it itched to fight. Then his earlier guess was right. Cyrus looked across at Guzma who still crouched but now wore a grin.

“This here’s my partner, golisopod. Just so you know.”

It cried at the mention of its name. With a single push weavile was shoved backwards to Cyrus’s side. He kept his eyes on Guzma. The air the other had around himself at the possibility of a battle was of confidence. Cyrus had not fought since his isolation but he decided backing down would be a worse option.

“So, we gonna battle? I ain’t rusty by no means.”

Cyrus decided to concede to his pokémon’s wishes. It would be about time he did.

“If you would humor me.”

Guzma’s grin grew bigger before settling into a smirk.

“Golisopod, _first impression!_ ”

“Ice punch.”

His weavile raced towards the opponent. Despite the fact it should have been faster by default, the golisopod moved first. In silent amazement Cyrus watched as the Pokémon moved forward and cracked a deft claw across his weavile’s crown. Fatigued from the heavy hit his weavile still managed to land the ice punch.

Golisopod appeared to take little damage.

“Did I forget to mention? It’s a bug and water type.”

Cyrus processed the information and considered switching out. While it would affront weavile it would be wiser; even with one blow golisopod hit heavy when it could. Reaching into a pants pocket Cyrus switched weavile out.

 

Guzma felt his usual power high coming on. This was the real way to get to know someone, why hadn’t he thought of it sooner? Cyrus wasn’t made of glass he had pokémon. He could fight! And he had brains as Guzma noticed the move he was making.

Cyrus switched out the weavile for a crobat. Guzma didn’t let his smirk turn down.

“Sucker punch!”

“Toxic.”

With no move to anticipate golisopod remained still as it was poisoned. The crobat hovered overhead eyeing the opponent. His golisopod’s had worse.

“Sucker punch, again!”

“Air cutter.”

The crobat was hit but it took the damage better than the weavile. Flapping its four wings in rapid motion the air sliced along golisopod’s carapace. Using one of its smaller claws it signaled for the emergency exit and was called back.

Guzma went to complete the switch out with vikavolt.

“ _What are you boys doin’?_ ”

Plumeria’s yell cut across the courtyard. Guzma gritted his teeth and resisted a hard sigh. Instead he stood up and put the poké ball back in his pocket. Looking up at the balcony he saw Plumeria standing there with her arms crossed.

“It’s just _one_ battle, Plumes!”

She shook her head and went back inside. Across from him Cyrus recalled his crobat.

“You _know,_ ” Plumeria had started before she got fully out the front door, “we can’t trust that Pokémon Center to keep going on forever.”

“It’s got the backup generator, right?”

Plumeria walked past them both, stopped, and continued to talk.

“It’s been on the backup generator for a _long_ while. I already told the grunts this weeks ago, but no fightin’ in Po Town. Not unless you wanna be askin’ Nanu for help.”

Guzma rolled his eyes. Cyrus remained quiet. Plumeria started walking again.

“C’mon let’s go heal your pokémon. Just this once.”

All three walked down the main road to the Pokémon Center. Guzma caught Cyrus examining the state of the houses through the rain. He still hadn’t shown any sort of surprise or embarrassment. Most people did when Plumeria pulled out the concerned angry bit.

Once inside the Pokémon Center Guzma noticed the lack of grunts lying about. In fact, during the tour earlier, there hadn’t been much of anyone around at all. Did Plumeria make them scatter because of Cyrus? Or did they scatter by themselves? Guzma figured Plumeria might know and he decided to ask later.

Plumeria hopped behind the counter and asked for their poké balls. As the pokémon were being healed Guzma noticed, _again,_ how Cyrus stared at his surroundings. There might have been just a shred, just a tiny bit of emotion in that stare; an emotion like amazement. When Plumeria handed the poké balls back it vanished.

“Could I have a look at the generator in question?”

Guzma couldn’t hide his shock but tried to wipe it off his face quick. It was the last question he expected Cyrus to ask. Plumeria managed to look less bemused.

“Sure. Think you can fix it?” She asked as she slid back to the front.

“That would depend. But, given my background in engineering, I should at least have a look.”

With Plumeria in the lead she went to the back of the Pokémon Center. At the touch of a button a sliding door opened revealing the deeper interior. They passed by empty and looted patient rooms to the far back. Plumeria pulled opened a door and flicked on a light.

Cyrus walked ahead and took in the sight of the generator room. Guzma hung back by the door. So, he was an engineer? Like, working with machines and stuff? How does a guy like that- oh who was he kidding, he knew an _exact_ guy like that. Maybe two, but the second guy just gave him an iffy vibe.

After a few minutes of tapping at control panels, and whatever else, Cyrus turned back around.

“If the rate of usage stays about the same I would give the backup generator another five months. After that point it will either break and need repair or be used sparingly.”

Plumeria turned halfway to look at Guzma.

“Told you.”

Guzma shrugged in response. She turned back around to Cyrus.

“Thanks for the heads up.”

Cyrus gave a small nod. Together they all exited the Pokémon Center. Guzma was thinking of going back to his room when a Skull Grunt came running up from the gate.

“Boss! Hey boss man!”

He turned away from the group at being called at.

“What’s up?”

“Nanu’s at the gate askin’ for ya. Doesn’t sound too bad but.” The grunt shrugged. Guzma walked with him back to the gate. What did the “great kahuna” want now? To give him another earful of wisdom on how to deal with weirdos?

Nanu stood outside the gate in the drizzle that fell on Route Seventeen. He looked as tired as he did every other time Guzma saw him. Thinking about it didn’t Cyrus also look that way?

“Guzma. How’d the first night go?”

“Everything’s fine, Nanu. Are you really only here for that?”

Guzma set his hands on his hips. The more this went on the less he felt like humoring the conversation. That is, if Nanu didn’t pick up a hint and get to leaving.

“Yeah, just that. I’m not gonna do this every day so you can relax.” Nanu shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I’m not going to ask for anything like progress reports. I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

Guzma rolled his eyes at the last line. Nanu turned around and called back over his shoulder, “Be seein’ you.”

He watched Nanu walk off down towards the police station. 

 

When Cyrus stepped back inside Shady House fatigue washed over him. At the same time a headache began to carve its way through his skull. The suddenness caused him to wince and scrunch his shoulders. Luckily Plumeria had left him to walk back up the stairs by himself.

Once inside the bedroom Cyrus made himself comfortable quick as possible for sleep. The day’s events hadn’t been that exhausting, or had they? More introspective questions came to mind but Cyrus couldn’t entertain them all. Even his thoughts had begun to be clouded by fatigue. He lay under the covers and let sleep take him.

Cyrus never believed himself capable of dreaming. In his childhood, yes, but as he grew older dreams were harder to remember. He found himself grappling with something in a dark space. Cyrus felt his movements slow, and slow, until he couldn’t fight against whatever it was. At waking up the vague sensation of being in a vice grip was all he could remember.

“’Ey Cy.”

He had woken to the sound of someone speaking above him. Cyrus shuffled his arms and legs orientating them so he could sit up. Due to the drag he felt in his muscles the dream must have been for hours. Cyrus blinked away the bleariness of sleep to see who had spoken.

Guzma stood at his bedside. Thunder crashed overhead to fill up the beat of silence.

“You’ve been asleep for days, man.”

Cyrus blinked again and attempted to wipe some residual grogginess from his eyes with a hand.

“Have I?”

His voice came out husky which annoyed him on a menial level.

“Nah, I’m just messin’ with ya. You slept through lunch though.”

It took him a few extra seconds to process the joke. Guzma’s crooked smile didn’t waver the entire time. He turned suddenly to start towards the door.

“Plumeria wants you downstairs for dinner, so, don’t be late for this one.”

As he left Cyrus stared after him in mute confusion.

 

Guzma started snickering as soon as he was a few feet from the door. He could get used to this. Just messing with a guy until his face cracked. Which, Cyrus’s had not exactly done that, but the ghost of it was there. Something about the whole situation was hilarious.

At the foot of the stairs Plumeria was talking with another grunt. She caught him snickering and fixed him with a raised eyebrow.

“What chu do?”

“Nothin’ Plumes. Swear I just woke the guy up for dinner.”

Guzma tried to get a grip on his smile. Plumeria didn’t look convinced and waved off the girl grunt who went back towards the kitchen.

“That reminds me, where’d all the grunts go? There were ones that didn’t take off for Tapu Village right?”

“Beats me.”

Plumeria began to walk towards the kitchen. Guzma recognized her tone. He took off after her and caught up with his long stride.

“Aw c’mon Plumes!”

“They’re fine.”

“Well, _I know that,_ Plumes.”

They reached the kitchen. The grunt from earlier was overseeing some pots on the stove. Plumeria walked over to a drawer and pulled out a fist full of silverware. She held it out to him.

“Set the table.”

Guzma took the silverware and gave up the pursuit. He knew when to let Plumeria just simmer about stuff. If it was about Cyrus, honestly, one lame joke wouldn’t kill the guy.  


Later they ate dinner in a moody atmosphere. It let Guzma see that there were only three other grunts left at Po Town, two guys to watch the gate and a girl to help cook. With all this fuss about the space traveler it convinced Guzma to get more into his role. Nothing about this guy should be handled like a fragile package.

 

Cyrus dreamed again of the vice grip. From the void of sleep he was seized and resumed the struggle. It had surfaced quicker this time. He remembered more details upon awakening; how and where it held him. Before Cyrus committed the details to memory a voice spoke again from above.

“Hey, wake up, man.”

He recognized the voice as belonging to Guzma. An urge to feign sleep came up as an option. After a brief consideration Cyrus decided not to. It would go against the idea of trying to settle. As he sat up and faced Guzma a vague memory from last night’s dinner came to mind.

“Mornin’ sunshine.” Thunder punctuated Guzma’s greeting. Cyrus didn’t think it possible he would attempt a joke awakening twice in a row. But.

Guzma put his hands up.

“I’m not kiddin’ this time. It’s actually morning, and you remember what I said last night, right?”

The vague memory became clearer.

_“We can’t have you sleepin’ through everything. Tomorrow I’ll wake you up early and show you a little somethin’ special. A’ight?”  
Cyrus had nodded not knowing if he had a choice. Part of him wanted to say no, to stay indoors, but curiosity got the better of him in the end. That, and the desire to not have to suffer through his emotions. Dinner resumed its tense atmosphere. Plumeria had given off an annoyed aura except when Guzma spoke up about the plans._

At present, Cyrus smoothed a few stray hairs away from his vision. He breathed a sigh through his nose. His body didn’t feel extraordinarily tired for being woken up early, but the fatigue might catch up to him later. He would have to bet on the event not taking long.

“Let me dress, please.”

Guzma gave a nod and left the room. Cyrus slid out of bed and went through the bags of clothes which sat on an unused bed. Plumeria had explained they would fit although not tightly. It was fine.

He shucked off the black sweater and put on a plain red t-shirt. Over that Cyrus settled a dark red hoodie with an odd stamp on its front. He switched his sweatpants for a different pair, put on his shoes, and left the room.

Guzma waited for him near the entrance to Shady House. Without another word they left the house together and walked through Po Town. Disregarding the thunder earlier, the rain had actually lightened up to a drizzle. Perhaps the early morning was when it was at its weakest. Cyrus noticed no one else seemed to be out the few that were present in this strange town. How early had Guzma woken him? It was hard to tell with all the dark cloud cover.

They exited Po Town through a gate. Cyrus paused in his step to take in the lush greenery of Alola which indicated its climate. Besides the greenness of the grass, there were tropical trees and the humidity present. A small cliff side stood in the distance directly across from the gate. The drizzle stayed even outside of the enclosed town. Cyrus saw no sign of a sun in his scanning. So it was that early in the day.

“This way,” directed Guzma with a nod of the head. Cyrus followed when the other started down a trail. He noticed the presence of a police building.

“Nanu lives there, just so ya know.”

An interesting situation to be in or to have been in. Cyrus resumed noticing the details in the scenery. There were many things to take in even if the rest of the natural world wouldn’t be awake for a while. Well, no, not quite, bugs were most active in the morning.

The same time the thought crossed his mind they entered a different area. It was a meadow of red flowers with a plank walkway spread out over them. Cyrus figured the arrangement had been made to preserve the flowerbeds.

No one else was around except them. He glanced at Guzma who appeared used to this routine. Cyrus guessed it was routine by the general casualness the other had been giving off.

“Over here, it looks the best from here.”

Guzma stepped forward a few feet onto the planks and waved him over with a hand. Cyrus went over and stood beside him.

“Give it a sec.”

They waited. Around them Cyrus heard from the flowerbeds pokémon beginning to wake. Stalks rustled and pokémon called to one another. Guzma sat down on the edge of the walkway. Cyrus clasped his hands behind his back and remained still as he stood.

The sky’s blackness began to be broken up by light from the east. As the first rays of sun arched through the meadow the flowers’ redness became illuminated. A mist rose up to haze over the beautiful scene of golden rays clashing with brilliant red. Cyrus felt his body relax as he was taken by the scene.

A buzzing noise, which zoomed past him, broke him out of the trance. He looked for the source.

“Alright, alright, _guys,_ calm down.”

Cyrus looked down his side at Guzma. He had pulled out of his jacket a mason jar of honey. Surrounding him were unrecognizable pokémon. They seemed eager for the jar’s contents. As Guzma unscrewed the lid, and set the jar down, he explained.

“These are ribombees. They’re bug and fairy type and really love honey. I come out here an’ feed these guys every other morning. I been doin’ it since living here.”

Cyrus looked from the pokémon to Guzma. He had a look of pure peace, no, pleasure, Cyrus thought again, harder. No it was happiness. Something sank into the back of his mind. Something different came out of his mouth.

“You’re a bug type specialist?”

Guzma flicked a glance up at him but concentrated on the ribombees. A few of them had eaten their fill and taken to resting on Guzma’s shoulders.

“Yeah.”

Cyrus considered what else to say. At one time he had looked into Sinnoh’s Pokémon League. Among them had been a bug type specialist as well. The indecisiveness between what could or should be said stopped him. It had fallen on his tongue and fell back down his throat.

He looked back over the meadow. The mist was thickening despite the sun’s rays. Everything here felt serene. It was strange and foreign after apparent years of nothing and no one. Yet here life brimmed and it flowed almost overflowing. It even dwelled within the few people he had seen. Life here existed as a wellspring eager to share. For a brief moment Cyrus wondered if this was where he needed to be.

“I’m getting’ up.” A few of the ribombees seemed to protest. “No, no, ya ate it all. I don’t got more. You’ll have to wait.”

Cyrus watched as Guzma stood up to full height. He dusted off some pollen from his jacket as the ribombees retreated into the meadow. Cyrus had noted it before but Guzma was of an absurd height (at least, in comparison to himself).

Guzma bent down and picked up the used honey jar. A few ribombees returned and deposited round, fluffy yellow objects into the jar. Guzma thanked them and capped it.

“These’re pollen puffs. Only ribombees make them and they’re pretty sweet. Of course they also work as an attack when they aren’t made with the sweet stuff. Depends on the intent,” Guzma explained as he put the jar away. They left the meadow the same way they came with the drizzle still present.

Cyrus considered putting his hood up. The fatigue he had been suspecting would make a return began to catch up. Combined with the drizzle they made him start to feel uncomfortable. He felt the urge to change clothes and crawl into bed. Sleep sounded so pleasant. To distract him, a pokémon near the police station steps caught his attention with a meow.  


It looked like a meowth except with an unusual color of fur. Settled close to the door it was avoiding the rain. Seeing them both walk up closer it stared back in their direction and meowed again. Cyrus stopped to study it, and Guzma bent around him to see.

“Oh yeah.” Guzma spoke up without asking. “That’s an Alolan Meowth. Around here it’s a dark type while everywhere else it’s a, uh, a normal type.”

The smug expression on its face didn’t change. It lay luxuriously despite having no need to. The meowth seemed comfortable with the idea of being admired from afar. Cyrus _hm’d_ dismissively and felt the corner his mouth twitch down.

Not a second later and Guzma burst into laughter at his right. Cyrus stepped away in surprise at the sudden noise. The other was doubled over in mirth. He watched in confusion and wondered if he should ask. When the laughter sounded like it had reached a certain point he did.

“What-?”

“ _I ain’t never seen anyone snub a meowth before!_ ”

Guzma sucked in air and straightened up to wipe his face.

“ _Not on sight!_ ” He wheezed. “That’s, that’s gotta make my mornin’. No one else snubs a meowth but me an’ _this is great._ ”

Cyrus observed the smile on Guzma’s face. It looked so sincere.

“Did I show that much disdain?”

“Just enough.” Guzma heaved one last laugh. “But c’mon, I think I see Plumeria waitin’ for us.”

As they approached the entrance gate Cyrus pulled up the hood. He pondered over what had just happened and the meadow. Because of one person he had seen many bright things in close conjunction. Cyrus’s eyes darted over to Guzma who still looked at home in the rain. What should he say to him about it? Anything?

Before Cyrus got the chance they had approached the gate where Plumeria was waiting. She looked over at him first.

“Breakfast is ready so feel free to go back to bed after. I know how it is with his Ula’Ula Meadow thing.”

“Plumes, c’mon, y’know it’s cool.”

Plumeria shook her head although Cyrus spotted a small smile.

“No one else can wake up early like you, Guz.”

“ _Hey,_ I can’t wake up early for nothin’ either. At least, not _all_ the time. What am I, a _monster?_ ”

Plumeria’s smile dropped and Guzma shrugged his shoulders. Cyrus became preoccupied with the thought of food and then a long rest. The conversation ended they entered the gate where Cyrus did just that.

Back in his bedroom he stripped off the sodden hoodie and shoes. Sleep was already tugging at his consciousness but a thought came up to stop him. Back there, at the meadow, what else had he meant to experience? What was he to make of it? The questions remained unanswered as sleep arrived on the bed.

 

Later in the day, Guzma was in the process of going back upstairs after lunch. Then Plumeria caught him by the back of his jacket.

“Hey.”

He didn’t stumble but he did pause. Plumeria let go to allow him to turn around.

“Yeah?”

“Go wake that tough guy up.”

Guzma rolled his eyes in exasperation. Oh, so Cyrus was a tough guy now?

“Is it gonna be my job from now on? Cause if it is I woulda liked a heads-up.”

“Would it really have made a difference, Guz?”

“ _Yeah,_ cause then I coulda had a chance to say no.”

“Then that’s the point. ‘sides don’t you guys get weirded out when I wake you up?”

Guzma gave her a look of sheer confusion. The remark felt so out of the blue for her. He had seen firsthand how much the grunts appreciated Plumeria being their Big Sis. Why would it be weird?

“Who told you that? _Which of these grunts told you that?_ ”

Plumeria smiled and gave a short laugh. Waving it off she tried to shoo him upstairs.

“Go wake him up for me and meet me down here. I gotta surprise for ‘im.”

Guzma went upstairs and entered the room. His agitation from earlier dwindled immediately. Cyrus’s room had a weird atmosphere to it. Guzma had noticed it for the first time that morning.

It wasn’t stifled or depressed, but it was kind of heavy. Maybe the low-lighting wasn’t the best idea. Not with the fact it was constantly raining where they were. Right now in fact the rain had picked up to its stormy self. Yet Cyrus hadn’t changed the room to look any different so it stayed.

Speaking of Cyrus, he was sleeping. Guzma went over and figured his earlier method would work. It took a bit longer than the previous times but Cyrus woke up. Sitting up the guy seemed to be trying to not to look entirely out of it.

“Miss something again?” Cyrus spoke first for once. 

“Dunno actually. Plumeria just told me to bring ya downstairs.”

Cyrus combed through his spiked hair and started shifting to get out of bed. Guzma moved back to the door. The red shirt he was wearing today looked too familiar. Nanu had the same red shirt didn’t he? As Guzma made the conclusion Cyrus had his shoes on. He threw the thought away and they left to go downstairs.

“Alright, good to see you awake. This way.”

Plumeria started off and threw over her shoulder, “you too, Guz.”

What else did he have to do? Guzma followed and they went out the side entrance of Shady House. They gathered under the gazebo. The rain and wind had picked up to its usual, and thunder happened every now and then. Always made things more dramatic to anyone who didn’t live there.

“Cyrus,” he looked at her when addressed, “what’s your team?”

“Pardon?”

Guzma assumed his facial expression there meant he was reasonably startled. No decent trainer hands out what kind of team they have. Especially not in unfamiliar territory.

“I figured it’s been a while since your team ate. If you’ll let ‘em out now I can feed them all at once. Easier that way, right?”

Cyrus seemed to think the idea over. Guzma looked around and noticed the bags of pokémon food stacked next to a pile of dishes on the other side of the gazebo. That was Plumeria alright; trying to anticipate everything to her best ability.

Guzma got distracted by Cyrus turning around. He quietly walked to the edge of the gazebo near the empty pool. After reaching into his pockets he pulled out five poke balls. The pokémon were released all at once with a single toss.

After the initial flash the immediate pokémon to get Guzma’s attention was the gyarados. It took up the entire pool and roared towards the stormy sky. Guzma couldn’t help recoiling in sheer surprise.

“ _A gyarados?!_ ”

“I figured he’d have somethin’ big.”

Guzma set himself straight and looked at what else had been released. The honchkrow from before flew in from the outside and perched on Cyrus’s shoulder. The familiar crobat hovered close by his owner’s head. The weavile from their short battle and a houndoom sat on either side of Cyrus. He turned around to face Guzma and Plumeria again. The pokémon collectively kept their eyes on them as if anticipating trouble. 

“Might as well start handin’ these out,” said Plumeria.

Guzma looked to his right and saw she had gone back to fill up a few dishes. She must have done it when he wasn’t paying attention. None of the pokémon made a move towards the food. They were just as quiet and watchful as Cyrus happened to be.

Not seeing a problem Plumeria went and handed over the dishes one at a time. Cyrus gave them out, and only then, did the pokémon relax and start to eat.

“Guz, get a bag for the gyarados.”

Well, it explained why he was there at all. Guzma tore open one of the bags and gingerly deposited its contents near the gyarados. Seeing its teammates eating it assumed it was safe to eat, too. Guzma stepped back underneath the gazebo. Cyrus had clasped his hands behind his back to watch the goings on.

“I thank you for this,” he said his voice almost drowned out by the rain. Guzma knew his voice was soft but was it softer this time?

Plumeria crossed her arms.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Guzma was going to ask about the gyarados when he saw the crobat fly up. It nudged affectionately at the back of Cyrus’s head. The fact his face didn’t change at all made Guzma almost crack up. He caught himself in time he hoped.

Cyrus sighed and reached up to rub the spot between the crobat’s ears. It chittered in delight.

“Always was the fastest eater,” Cyrus commented to himself.

Guzma remembered something offhand about crobats. It made him look at the rest of Cyrus’s team and notice a running theme. Even outside of Alola aren’t all these pokémon hard to get? What he meant, none of these pokémon are easy to evolve aside from the houndoom.

“Hey, Plumes, don’t you have one a those?”

He nodded at the crobat which had continued pestering Cyrus for head rubs.

“Yeah.” She tilted her head to one side. “What about it?”

“Wasn’t it _hard to get?_ ”

Plumeria tilted her head back up. Maybe she was catching his drift.

“It is a happiness evolution, yeah.”

“Huh. Thought so.”

The gyarados had finished with the bag. It leaned its fearsome face near the outside of the gazebo and hissed. Cyrus reached forwards and stroked the side of its face without fear. Plumeria tapped Guzma on the shoulder.

“It needs another bag.”

She bent down and collected a few empty dishes. They walked to the side of the gazebo where the bags of pokémon food were. Plumeria squatted down and Guzma followed suit. They proceeded to talk in hushed tones.

“This is goin’ well,” she commented making herself look busy.

“Plumes, what are ya so worried about with this guy?”

Plumeria didn’t show worry or act worried by stereotypical standards. Guzma knew how to pick it out of her though. He figured it would be more important to do it now than talk about what he’d noticed earlier.

“His pokémon ain’t seen him in a while. It’s been ages since they last got fed. Not to mention-“

“Plumes, he ain’t a basketcase. Stop worryin’ so much.”

She rearranged the dish stack and started towards a bag of pokémon food.

“What makes you so sure, genius? Did he say somethin’ while you two were out?”

Guzma thought back to that morning and smiled.

“Dude snubbed a meowth. An Alolan meowth. _Straight up._ ”

Plumeria cast him some serious side eye.

“C’mon you know how much tourists _love_ those things. He took one look at it and just _hmpf’d_ like he’d seen better.”

She turned her head towards him still not convinced.

“Okay the point, the point.” Guzma waved his hand. “While I was dyin’ laughin’ he got this concerned look on his face. It didn’t show up for long but it was there. At the meadow he got all contemplative lookin’, too.

“If you want my opinion, Plumes, I think he’s just all wrapped up in there. But he ain’t scary. An’ he doesn’t need you worryin’ too much about him.”

Plumeria shook her head but Guzma could tell she was relieved to some degree. They got the bag of pokémon food ready and Guzma carried it back over to the gyarados. It stopped bothering Cyrus for attention soon as the food was laid out.

Since most of his pokémon had finished eating they went back to lingering near him. All of them were vying for attention except for two. The weavile and the honchkrow seemed content just to be at Cyrus’s side unlike the other two. It made Guzma figure that out of them all those two had to be the oldest.

Cyrus’s face had a relaxed neutral expression. He didn’t seem bothered by all the fuss. Give a point to Plumeria for making an excuse to get this guy’s pokémon out. Guzma looked over at her.

“Need anything else?”

She surveyed the situation.

“Nah. I’ll stay, you can go.”

 

Cyrus became prey to the thing in the blackness again. He was bound and constricted. This time he noticed for sure where on his body it kept him in a vice grip; it restrained his arms to his sides and his legs likewise. Something new happened this time, too. Cyrus didn’t have time to devote it to memory before he woke up abruptly.

“Cy, _hey,_ Cy- oh.”

Cyrus pushed himself up from the bed. He didn’t have a choice but to fall into the routine of Guzma waking him up. This morning he remembered clearly for what reason.  


Guzma had invited him- at least he believed it an invitation- to go somewhere again early. After yesterday’s events, Cyrus figured he should show more motivation towards his hosts.

Speaking of which, didn’t Guzma call him by the nickname “Cy?” Wasn’t that twice now?

“You gonna sit there or you still in?”

“Let me dress, please.”

Guzma left the room. Cyrus went over to the bags and rifled through the clothes. He found part of himself wishing for his old ensemble; it had been so easy to not think about. With regular clothes he often overthought about what matched what.

Cyrus decided on a scoop neck sweatshirt that had a houndstooth design. He considered changing pants but shrugged it off. That and the idea of a hoodie; something about letting the rain soak him felt nice.

Leaving out the door Cyrus saw Guzma had waited at the top of the stairs this time. Guzma flashed him a look, gave a single nod at the stairs, and started down. The other always carried an air of confidence about him but this morning it felt stronger.

Together they started the trek out of Po Town. Along the way, Cyrus turned a few things over in his mind. There were questions about Guzma he hadn’t asked yet. The reason behind it being if he were to stay here it was only reasonable to know more. Perhaps he could use this morning to do that.

Outside of Po Town Cyrus noticed, through the clouds, the sky had cracks of daylight. Guzma turned down the same trail, but near the police station, he turned to the left. Cyrus saw how the ground sloped upward and climbed the back of the cliff he had noticed earlier.

As they got closer the climb didn’t look steep. Despite the fact, a part of Cyrus still made him clench his teeth in dislike. To be woken up for an early morning hike of all things.

“Ya think it’s bad don’t ya?”

Guzma’s question made Cyrus unclench his teeth right quick.

“All the grunts I’ve taken here say that. The only bad part’s the ariadoses an’ ledians that’ll catch you off guard this early.”

As he talked, Guzma withdrew a poké ball from his pocket. He released golisopod which cried at assuming its full height. Cyrus took stock of the fact it was few inches taller than Guzma.

Cyrus guessed he must have a pokémon out as well. Upon releasing his honchkrow it crowed and settled nicely onto his shoulder. Cyrus liked the comforting weight and the familiar sensation of feathers on his neck.

“Let’s go.”

They began the hike without problem. Cyrus paid attention to the pokémon cries which could be heard in the distance. He saw the way the constant drizzle seemed to sway whenever the wind rose. The morning sun trying to pierce through the cloud cover was interesting as well.

After a while, Cyrus suddenly noticed the widening gap between his stride and Guzma’s. He heaved a sigh and went to close it.

Before he could a pokémon dashed into the free space. An ariados separated him from Guzma and it hissed. His honchkrow crowed in response and fluffed out its breast feathers. Cyrus extended his arm and allowed the honchkrow to walk down. He considered having it use psychic to keep from making physical contact.

“ _Wait!_ ”

Guzma had turned back down the slope.

“Hold up!”

Cyrus thought it was strange that the ariados seemed to back down; it happened as soon as Guzma yelled. Cyrus lowered his arm to watch as Guzma drew closer to the ariados. He squatted down and held out a hand to it.

“C’mere to ya boy, you.”

The ariados turned around, let out a shrill noise, and stepped close enough to be petted. Cyrus closed his eyes and took a breath. Of course Guzma knew this specific bug pokémon. Similar had happened in the meadow why not here?

His honchkrow settled down to a less defensive state. It moved back to sit on his shoulder.

“Sorry ‘bout this guy,” Guzma said looking up at Cyrus. “I released him a while ago but he still shows up around here.”

“Released it?” The question appeared to fall out of his mouth on its own.

“Yeah, I uh, I figured I should expand my team. Get it a bit more diverse.”

Cyrus noticed the emotion which caused Guzma’s voice to quake. It sent a strange sensation through his chest and up the back of his spine.

Guzma continued giving the ariados affection in silence. His golisopod stood nearby as an onlooker though Cyrus suspected it would have sympathy towards its past teammate. That was how things went.

He took a step forward and clasped his hands behind his back. Cyrus felt there was a societal convention to be obeyed here. But the words he should know to say didn’t come. Similar to yesterday they faltered at his throat. For a second, Cyrus wished he could be like his old self.

At last he finally made himself talk.

“I’ve never released a pokémon before.”

Guzma looked up when Cyrus started speaking. He pushed himself to keep talking.

“But I imagine it must be difficult.”

Guzma took a second to digest what he said. Cyrus kept his poise controlling the flush which threatened to creep up his neck and onto his face. It had been years since he last felt this clumsy with words. His time in Team Galactic, and his authority there, it must have aided him.

“Yeah, it is, but change is good. Can’t be all bad. What will the Alolan winds bring, hm,” Guzma said with a faint smile. Cyrus didn’t know what to make of it. He didn’t sense anything negative in the tone.

Guzma withdrew his hand causing the ariados to raise its head. He stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Now go on, you. Don’t let me catch you botherin’ people again.”

The ariados let out another shrill cry before disappearing into the grass on the slope. Guzma turned around and started walking again. Cyrus let himself breathe and idly stroked at honchkrow’s breast feathers. He followed intending to keep up this time with the stride.

Cyrus eyed the nearing peak. However, Guzma paused and looked over at his golisopod which had begun to look on guard. Cyrus looked at his honchkrow and the way it eyed the nearby grass.

Before he could investigate it flew off. It flapped its wings, turned sharply, and rapidly spun itself into a drill peck. Cyrus heard the impact of the hit and the honchkrow soared upward out of its attack. As the defeated pokémon fell he could see it was a ledian.

“Nice hit,” commented Guzma. Cyrus held out his arm and allowed his honchkrow to perch. It looked satisfied with its brief chance to shine. 

With no more interruptions they reached the top of the cliff. For the first time Cyrus saw the expanse of the Alolan ocean. Even through the wind and rain it appeared to have a certain beauty about it. None of the crashing waves and dark water reminded him of Sunyshore. That was what he liked best about it he guessed.

“Hold on a sec.”

Cyrus turned his head to look at Guzma who retrieved something out of his jacket. It turned out to be wrapped up. He fumbled to keep it shielded from the rain while unwrapping.

“Now _this_ is a treat.”

Guzma handed him what appeared to be a bagel.

“Keep it together, kay? The stuff that’s on it is a pollen puff from yesterday.” He smiled before taking a bite and mumbling an exclamation afterwards.

Cyrus stared at the bagel with reservation, but bit into it anyway. The taste instantly filled his mouth making him pause in chewing. It was sweet, and without the bread the pollen puff alone would have been too sweet for his liking.

He took another bite, and with the help of his honchkrow, kept it dry from the rain. Cyrus tore off a section for his honchkrow to try. After swallowing it cawed and fluffed its feathers in delight.

Guzma had shared his pollen puff smeared bagel as well. Even with the wind and rain the atmosphere felt comfortable. Cyrus sensed that maybe this moment was the opportunity he had been waiting on. He chose a question to hopefully reveal the most he would need to know.

“Guzma, what had you hoped to accomplish with Team Skull?”

It would be the quickest way to get to know the supposed leader of this disbanded team. Being a former leader as well the other would still remember and have some comment on the topic

Guzma seemed a bit surprised at the question but not for long. He looked out at the ocean and his face took on a thoughtful expression.

“Alola’s built on a lotta traditions. An’ some of those traditions, like the Island Challenge, can make people fall to the wayside. And those people, sometimes things don’t go over so well. They get all trapped in their failure or treated bad.”

Guzma fed the rest of the bagel to his golisopod. Cyrus let honchkrow have his remainder in order to listen.

“I mean, change already tried to come, but the Tapu saw to end that. I decided to try and do it another way. Thinkin’ about it now, I knew back then it wouldn’t change anythin’. Or, I shoulda known. I had people around me, to back me up, that’s what made me think I was doin’ somethin’, but really? Our change was just getting accepted as kids bein’ delinquents led by some big bad. Causin’ a fuss because we were still kids being kids.

“Maybe we are but that’s fine now. Alola’s got change coming. I feel that. I wanna be there to see that, to see these traditions change up. _Maybe when you bring out the best in others, it helps you find the best in yourself._ ” Guzma had a nostalgic smile. He shook it off with a single nod and looked over at Cyrus.

“Sorry for goin’ on like that. Bet you’re tired of all this rain, right?”

“No. I quite like the rain,” Cyrus let slip without a second thought.

The impact of Guzma’s words was soft but colored by experience. They revealed such a complex nature.

“Let’s at least get back before lunch.”

Guzma turned around and started walking. Cyrus followed feeling a bit unsure of himself. Wasn’t there a give and take to this sort of thing? Why hadn’t Guzma asked anything of him?

Anxiety notched itself to the insides of his chest. It had to be for the way it made him feel a little jittery. Cyrus sighed and brushed his fingers against honchkrow’s feathers again. He should save overthinking for later. The mention of lunch reminded him he hadn’t eaten much today.

And sure enough, once at the foot of the slope, Cyrus felt fatigue pull at him. Dots danced across his eyes and he took a slow breath to force them back.

“Yo, you okay, dude?”

“I will be fine.”

Guzma didn’t seem to believe him but carried on. They walked back up the trail with their pokémon still present. Not that Cyrus had the energy to put honchkrow away. It seemed to have picked up on his condition and was acting protective. He knew from the way it hunched over and pressed against his neck.

They got as far as the gate when trouble struck. A trio of teenagers emerged from the tall grass opposite to the gate. None of them sported Team Skull dress making them outsiders.

Considering the team to be disbanded they couldn’t have been looking to join. Cyrus judged them to be young and impressionable. That had to be the reason why they exuded such hostility.

A boy in front, the leader, spoke loudly in a language Cyrus didn’t understand. Guzma turned fully around to face the boy. He spoke back in the same language in a dismissive manner.

From there Cyrus watched the conversation devolve into an argument. He couldn’t follow the entire dispute being at less than half capacity for such things. Cyrus concentrated on Guzma who he had seen firsthand was rather temperamental. If the argument couldn’t resolve itself things could end unpleasantly. That, and Cyrus didn’t exactly want to stand there listening to a boy yell.

He closed his eyes and decided to do something. Reaching for it Cyrus channeled what willpower he had once used as a leader. The heavy authority and vision he had once used to keep from going adrift. It would help with impressing fear into these boys. Cyrus snapped his eyes open and assumed his most domineering tone.

“ _Children!_ ” He stepped forward and lightly touched Guzma’s forearm. He would need to be quiet for this to work.

“For one, you have no such reason to speak to Guzma like this.”

Cyrus felt Guzma’s eyes on him. The leader of the boys started to protest but he pressed on.

“ _Second,_ nothing can be resolved with shouting. I have seen children _even younger than you_ capable of that logic. Third, there is no Team Skull to bother with anymore. You have no reason to be here. _Do I make myself clear?_ ”

Cyrus raked his gaze over the trio. His honchkrow cawed and shifted its talons. It was used to playing its part in the intimidation act.

“Do I make myself clear?”

The leader still looked hostile but the other two had fallen to fear. They cast looks at each other then waved their hands.

“ _Bro,_ I’m out.”

“Wait, where are you going?”

“I’m not messin’ with these guys anymore. I heard about Plumeria as Guzma’s number two, man, but. I didn’t sign up for _this!_ ”

There were vigorous headshakes as the two lackeys fled. The leader shot them and Cyrus a dirty look before following at a run. When they were far enough away Cyrus let himself deflate with a sigh. A headache rang through his skull, and he reached up to massage his temples.

“Yo, Cy, that was, like, beautiful.”

Cyrus looked up at Guzma’s face to see grey eyes wide with amazement. Cyrus looked away, let his honchkrow hide his face, and turned towards the gate. His chest filled with uncertainty but Cyrus buried it best he could.

 

“I respect, and admire, the spirit you carry yourself with. That’s all.”

With those cool words Cyrus entered first into Po Town. Guzma followed after remembering to put golisopod into its poké ball. He was still emotionally coming down from the argument.

Man, what a sight. He knew Cyrus could be cold, but the way he just locked those kids down stunned him. Guzma didn’t know what else to feel about it.

The grunts in charge of keeping an eye on the gate ran up to him.

“Yo, boss, did somethin’ happen?”

“Just a couple a’ brats. If you see any tryin’ to pick a fight you give ‘em a good beat down. Ya hear?”

“Word, we hear ya.”

They passed by him and returned to watching the gate. When Guzma entered Shady House Plumeria was standing near the entrance. She looked to be in the middle of something but decided to talk to him first.

“What took so long?”

“Ya never gonna believe it, Plumes.”

He walked past her and to the back where the kitchen would be. As he made himself lunch Guzma couldn’t help but grin as he talked about what happened outside the gate.

“-And he went from ice cold to lukewarm again,” he ended talking through some food in his mouth. Plumeria crossed her arms and thought.

“I guess it’s good that he likes you.”

“Aw, c’mon Plumes, ya make it sound like a bad thing.”

She shot him a raised eyebrow.

“You been _big bad_ Guzma for how long? Is this all part of that good guy act you didn’t tell me about?”

“Alright, alright.” Guzma conceded raising a hand.

He took another mouthful of food and chewed it over. Plumeria was asking why he was excited. Why was he? It’s not like he had started out wanting Cyrus to get to like him. Actually, it had been the other way around, and just a way to kill time while Cyrus was stuck here.

Plumeria leaned off the counter and looked ready to leave.

“I gave him some food to take upstairs since he looked so tired. Try to let him sleep in tomorrow, Guz.” She left the kitchen.

The ultimate answer to Guzma’s question didn’t come. He tried to busy himself with other things the whole day but he stayed restless. It followed him into the night until Guzma realized he wouldn’t be sleeping until late morning, probably. It wasn’t unusual for him to not be able to sleep, but this time he had too much to think over. He had too many thoughts for lying down in bed.

Guzma left his room sometime after two in the morning. Putting his hood up to block out the damp he went outside onto the balcony. The rain fell more like mist at this time of day. Made it easier to sit outside on the roof tiles and stare across town.

Situated, he tried to take his thoughts one at a time. Guzma’s mind went back to the prior morning. He hadn’t seen his ariados in weeks, and yet it just showed up out of the blue like that. In front of Cyrus, too. What kind of chance encounter did that have to end up being?

It still tore him up a little to remember, and Guzma wished the little guy had stayed away. Part of him wanted to take the ariados back but he didn’t have the room anymore.  


Guzma’s mind then jumped to Cyrus. What was up with the guy in general. Guzma thought of the soft look that came across Cyrus’s face whenever he was listening. The guy probably wasn’t aware it happened. Guzma couldn’t remember seeing anything like it on anyone else.

He remembered how, during the argument, Cyrus had done the arm touch Plumeria did to get his attention when he was too angry. That had become like a thing between him and Plumeria after getting to know each in Team Skull. How did he know to do that? Was it that easy to pick up on?

Then there was that one line Cyrus had said after the argument.

_“I respect, and admire, the spirit you carry yourself with. That’s all.”_

The words rang in Guzma’s ears in a funny way. He tried to place the feeling, where it had come from before. After a deep search into his memories one came up.

_“Guzma, you are by far the strongest trainer available for my work. It is very important to me, no, to the future of Alola. I hope that a great trainer such as you will accept the opportunity to work with me.”_

Guzma grit his teeth and snarled. He couldn’t stand hearing Lusamine say that to him again. Of course, he had shown up at Aether when he heard what had happened with that Rainbow Rocket. Guzma thought he could get some kind of closure on his feelings. He thought maybe she would talk to him again, but no. Nothing had happened.

He unclenched his teeth and stared out into the darkness. Thinking about it, the whole reason he had stopped with thinking about Lusamine was because of Cyrus showing up.

Then Guzma had a crazy thought that sent a shudder through his stomach.

“ _No, no, no, nah, no._ What are you even _talkin’_ about Guzma?”

He shook his head.

“I can’t be feelin’ like that. For, _for that guy._ Come on _what?_ ”

Guzma slid his hands inside the hood to pull at his hair.

“You aren’t getting’ duped again. Guzma you’re supposed to be better than this.”

He let go and pushed himself up off the roof tiles. Tomorrow, he would figure this out tomorrow. Probably with Plumeria’s help given that they had talked about this sort of thing. Guzma sighed and turned around going back inside Shady House. Taking off his jacket he went to lie on the bed for a few more hours.

Guzma waited until daytime had come around and Plumeria was in the mood for talking. He nonchalantly asked her to come by his room later to talk.

He had been sitting on the bed with his laptop when Plumeria came in. Guzma stayed on the bed with his legs crossed.

“Alright, so, what’s up?”

Guzma shifted a little where he sat. Ugh, this already felt awkward. If he didn’t do it Plumeria would rag on him later though.

“Uh, remember that thing we talked about? Back when I disbanded Team Skull and before the whole shebang with Aether?”

Despite the awful way he put it, Plumeria seemed to pick up on what he was talking about. She walked over and sat on the edge of his bed.

“That you would try an’ talk to me if you weren’t sure about something emotional. Did those kids yesterday say weird stuff?”

“ _Tch,_ no, it ain’t them. They said some crazy stuff, but that didn’t get to me.”

Guzma tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.

“Although bein’ called a thief for stealing people is new.”

“Very new.”

“But nah it’s.” Guzma put the laptop to the side. “It’s about Cyrus.”

Plumeria nodded to indicate she was listening. He took a second to get the words right in his mouth.

“Yesterday he said this specific thing after he shut down those bratty kids. It was: _I respect, and admire, the spirit you carry yourself with._ ”

Guzma paused to signal that was the quote.

“Like, what do you get from that?”

Plumeria blinked but kept a thoughtful look on her face. Guzma let the silence go on, but he became suspicious of how long Plumeria would have to think this over.

“I guess it means he admires you for your guts.”

The conclusion felt anticlimactic. Then Plumeria went on to say,

“Did you say anything to him while you were walkin?”

“Uhh, he asked about Team Skull, and I kinda rambled. And we also saw my old ariados. That count?”

Plumeria tilted her head to one side. Guzma felt a prick of impatience.

“Yeah, you musta showed him your guts.”

“Okay, what kinda guts we talkin’ about? Cause-”

“ _-I mean_ like your not-so-gutsy-guts. You get it, right?”

Guzma guessed that he got it. He felt like Plumeria was holding out on him, but he didn’t exactly have proof. All there was to go on was the vague feeling in his chest. Plumeria got up off the bed.

“Glad ya told me though. No more jumpin’ to conclusions with this sorta stuff.”

“Right.”

Guzma’s gaze went to his laptop which reminded him of another problem.

“Oh, right, do you know anywhere else around here to take Cyrus?”

Plumeria turned away from the door and they started discussing options then. After they decided on a place she agreed to tell Cyrus for him. Guzma picked the laptop back up and felt the vague feeling linger.

 

Cyrus woke himself up with a jolt. The dream had happened again but more violent this time. At least, he felt there had been violence. He couldn’t remember anything in specific. Cyrus sat up and listened for the sound of rain.

Judging by how hard it fell it was sometime in the morning. He could get by without anyone coming to see him, Cyrus hoped.

Reaching into a pocket he withdrew a poké ball. Houndoom was released onto the bed and it whipped its tail in glee at seeing him. Cyrus reached forward and stroked its face and neck. After a few quiet moments it moved to sit curled up around him. It placed its head in his lap for more opportunities to be petted.

As Cyrus calmed down from the dream his mind wondered to yesterday. He remembered his old insecurities had crept into his mind again. They did the same to him then just as they did yesterday; awful biting thoughts which could attack him here where it was quiet. It caused Cyrus to draw his knees up in kneejerk reaction. _Without Team Galactic, he had no authority, no dominion, and since he could never accomplish his goal he had no future. No hope, and no future, just a cold body stuck in this strange place. What was he? What was he now? What use was he now?_

As the hot sensation of self-loathing stung him the outside world seemed to dim. Cyrus tried to force himself to think of something else. His mind went to Guzma. There was a strange fascination now with him. He concentrated thinking on the situation best he could.

Where did it stem from? Did it come solely from the fact he asked for nothing in return? Cyrus had been given the chance to see so many new and wonderful things in Alola by him. He had been provided for by his group. And yet, all he had given in return was one compliment and one defense. Was that all?

Cyrus remembered being called the nickname again. He also remembered the amazement on Guzma’s face from when he had defended him from those boys. It gave him a nostalgic feeling coupled with another one. A foreign feeling which came up to fog the inside of his chest. It felt warm. He reached up to his sternum as if he could feel it on his skin.

After some contemplation Cyrus searched in his mind for a word to put to it. While he had become a stranger to emotions, and had been ignoring them, he should try to label them again. This one in particular felt important.

His houndoom whined and raised its head to seek attention. Cyrus tuned back into the world to stroke its soft short fur.

The word for the emotion sprang up on its own. The realization of the possible attachment caused a full heated flush to run across his face.

He stopped his hand and stared out into empty space. Cyrus attempted to comprehend the possibility in his usual logical manner. He debated heavily but he couldn’t exactly see a reason to say it was anything else.

Normally people would feel relief or giddiness after realizing such a thing. Cyrus did not.

An awful old thought dredged itself up from the back of his mind. If he wanted this to continue with Guzma he would have to be _selfish._ Cyrus had _excused_ his previous actions as unselfish by saying it was for the good of the planet. This, this would be entirely selfish. _To take up a person’s time for himself, to desire their constant attention, selfish boy, he should keep up his coldness, his distance. Nothing good would come of it, he should give up now._

Cyrus’s breath came in shudders. He noticed somewhere he had started crying. His houndoom lifted its head again, sat up, and started licking his face. Cyrus shut his eyes and let the wet tongue and dog breath distract him from his thought.

He wrapped his arms around the houndoom’s neck and hugged it lightly. It whined and let itself be held for a brief while. Then, it went back to shoving its snout in his face making sure Cyrus wasn’t crying again. He muttered a few affectionate things to it to reassure it.

At a later point in time, when Cyrus had resolved to not go back to sleep, Plumeria entered the room. As she gave him a plate of food she told him Guzma had invited him to go to the beach the next day. Cyrus agreed despite the thoughts which resurged at the mention of Guzma.

 

This time maybe Cyrus should be shown something a bit more conventional in terms of tourist standards. Guzma and Plumeria had talked about catching the beach at sunset. The sunsets in Alola were what they had heard tourists rave about most. It wouldn’t hurt to try.

Guzma found it a little hard to let the day pass by. It wouldn’t take long to walk down and back, but they had to account for incidents (brats in particular). He used his laptop to stay distracted too antsy for anything else.

Together they left Shady House after dinner. Guzma wore his usual getup but he noticed Cyrus had changed clothes again. This time he wore the clothes had first shown up in, although the vest had been left. Guzma found it strange to see him go back to looking like a space man. Guess he had gotten used to the casual clothes Cyrus had been wearing.

Cyrus had his houndoom out, too, which was kind of a surprise. The guy kept a hand either on its neck or horns as they walked. The houndoom didn’t seem to mind.

As they walked Guzma felt that the silence between them was different. He couldn’t tell what it was coming from; Cyrus, the houndoom, or himself. Maybe it was something from yesterday? Did something come up? At the thought, Guzma pushed off worrying too much about the silence. He wasn’t gonna start being that kind of guy.

They passed through Ula’Ula Meadow easy enough. A few people were scattered about admiring the flowers or pokémon. Cyrus took a few seconds to notice how different it looked during the daytime rather than at morning. Guzma stopped at the entrance to Route Sixteen to let him catch up. When Cyrus did Guzma watched to see what his reaction would be.

The entire beachfront of the route was awash in orange. The Alolan ocean, the sand, and the grass all had an orange tint. Cyrus took a few more steps into the route until he was overlooking the ocean and beach. His houndoom followed and stayed close by his side. Guzma couldn’t hide a smirk as he followed. Plumeria and him had picked it right the guy was entranced.

Guzma stood at the side unoccupied by the houndoom. It was amusing to see Cyrus bathed in the orange sunset. That soft look on his face turned out to be even better in the sunset’s light. Guzma turned to look at the ocean remembering to not get caught. There was the sound of waves, of pokémon, and of swimmers in the distance who called out to each other.

“I’m so relieved,” said Cyrus.

Guzma was caught off guard. He looked back at Cyrus.

“It’s nothing at all like Sunyshore.”

Cyrus heaved a sigh and his houndoom whined and stretched up its head. He gave it a few pats. Guzma decided to try to keep the conversation going.

“Sunyshore?”

“The city where I grew up.” Cyrus didn’t look at him to answer. He kept his gaze on the ocean in front of them.

Guzma took it that meant Cyrus had grown up in a beachside city. It was a weird fact to comprehend given how the guy looked and all. He acted more like what Guzma guessed a city person would act; someone raised indoors or within a city’s maze.

What he could understand about it was the idea of not wanting to be anywhere near where you grew up.

“Does all of Alola look like this at sunset?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“It gets terribly hot at midday, correct?”

“Yeah, yeah. Although I only ever go to a few places. And near Tapu Village it rains sometimes.”

Guzma gestured with his hand as he went on to explain.

“It’ll look like this with a light shower. Makes the rain look somethin’ special.”

“That sounds nice. I wouldn’t mind seeing it sometime.”

They fell back to a comfortable interlude. It was the most casual and conversational Cyrus had been the entire time. Guzma didn’t get a chance to chill like this often with anyone either.

And it was so interesting to see Cyrus’s reactions to everything new. It brought back that feeling from earlier the vague one.

Guzma noticed in his peripheral Cyrus turn towards him. He turned to meet his gaze. It seemed like Cyrus was going to say something, but then they both heard footsteps approach. Guzma took a look and frowned.

“Hey, you two.”

It was Nanu walking up from the direction of the beach. He had a few plastic bags in his hands.

“This is some nice timing I had news for the both of you.”

They each turned around to face Nanu.

“Alright, what it is?” Asked Guzma his hands on his hips.

“I found a place for Cyrus to stay on Melemele Island. The place’ll be ready in another two days, but I figured you would need the heads-up.”

Nanu looked at each of them when he spoke. Guzma felt a shudder run itself through his stomach again, and he tried to keep the surprise off his face. It must have worked because Nanu went right on to say,

“Well, that’s all I got. See you around I guess.”

He walked off towards the meadow.

Guzma shook his head to try and clear it. The ill sensation in his stomach stayed where it was. He shot a glance at Cyrus. His gaze had lowered to the ground which he stared at in contemplation. Cyrus’s houndoom whined again but he made no move to pet it.

For a few seconds Guzma felt irrational anger boil up at Nanu, but it simmered and died out. They had known Cyrus wouldn’t be around Po Town for long. It was said so on the first day he got there.

But Melemele Island? Guzma hefted a short sigh of frustration.

“Let’s go back too, yeah?”

Cyrus lifted his head to nod. He cast a glance back at the setting Alolan sun. Guzma noticed the way he kept his face blank like it had been back in the beginning. It made the vague feeling flare out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Annotations  
> -At first I wrote the beginning part with Cyrus absent of his name just to be cryptic, but I decided to put it in because even its crypticness was getting a bit much.  
> -I imagine that after a large amount of time Cyrus would go from being angry and discontent to severe apathy where he would barely even think anymore.  
> -"Most of them belonged to Moon" I figured during the whole Rainbow Rocket incident Moon took breaks between fights to tell Guzma about who she had to fight (mainly to help process all she was going through). Guzma obviously doesn't pick up on or remember exact things she said just generalizations.  
> -"a silver vest which looked battered." That is the smallest of references I could make towards the Pokemon Special manga.  
> -"a face cut like a rock." I tried really hard to avoid the cliche way of things but man did it turn out weirder and gayer than I expected.  
> -"The stranger muttered something to himself" Oh y'know mumbling about the passage of time and trying to comprehend.  
> -"Plumeria punched him in the arm." I did my best to bring out the brother-sister qualities these two have at times.  
> -The main reason I had Cyrus collapse is because I figured the passage of time wouldn't come back at him all at once; that'd be a bit too dramatic to age suddenly; so I decided the change would eave him super fatigued and entering near starvation/dehydration.  
> -"A distinct pop" I took a hint from the Pokemon Special manga which has it set to where pokemon inside their balls are at least a little aware of the outside world. I think it's best described as seeing and hearing, maybe some sixth sense in there for fun.  
> -"and feigned sleep" Listen, aren't we all quick to play dead when someone knows we should be asleep?  
> -"he wanted to fight one of them so much to Moon." After hearing a few of the boss's motivations I imagine Guzma would have wanted to join in (I woulda let him to be honest tag team fighting with him was the best).  
> -"when Plumeria walked up" She left when Guzma interrupted Nanu to get the stew. At heart, Plumeria only cares that he doesn't flat out die while still in Shady House.  
> -"Try to actually live this time" The line is a very, very vague indirect Homestuck reference actually. It's connected to Calliope for those in the know.  
> -"Saturn who had turned thirty-four recently." Cyrus would technically be 36 but that's only legally speaking. In reality he hasn't aged at all.  
> -"their directness reminded him of someone" If I could have I would have squeezed more references to Commander Jupiter than this.  
> -"The rain didn’t fall as heavy as it did earlier." I made up a whole system regarding the rain and storms in Po Town. You can technically tell time by how hard the rain is falling but the thunder and lightning are constant. If I don't have a sun to tell time with I make do.  
> -"She’s been pointin’ out differences" It's a nice thought to imagine Moon picking up on Plumeria's big sister vibe and asking about Alola.  
> -"and giving the wall a few new paint smears" I imagine Guzma uses the biggest house brushes he can find because they fit in his hands better.  
> -"Those are my bug huntin’ spots" Yeah this is an Undertale reference but it's also relevent.  
> -"You gotta come some of those times" I forgot to do that. I totally forgot to make Plumeria come along, but maybe I'll actually make it happen.  
> -"Don’t make it weird" That is a Trollhunters reference and it totally fits.  
> -"What did Plumeria mean by not making it weird?" Normal Guzma would have gone straight through with opening the door. But this is post-post-game Guzma who's decided to try and think more on things before he does them.  
> -"he knew an exact guy like that" He's talking about Faba and Colress here.  
> -"An ariados separated him from Guzma" I noticed that between Sun/Moon and Ultra Sun/Moon Guzma lost his ariados which had previously kicked my ass. I decided to insert this little scene to explain why the ariados had to disappear like it did.  
> -"It wasn’t unusual for him to not be able to sleep," I gave Guzma insomnia attacks similar to mine in that they happen when we don't want them to.  
> -"He thought maybe she would talk to him again" This is written in reference to the fact that, immediately after you beat Giovanni, Guzma enters the room, but Lusamine says nothing to him. And he just leaves afterwards.  
> -"Plumeria blinked but kept a thoughtful look on her face." It was a this moment Plumeria knew something was up. Beforehand she had a small feeling but this confirmed it.  
> -If you didn't notice I tried to root emotional reactions in two different places for Guzma and Cyrus. It's a neat little way to help differentiate how they take things. Guzma has gut (stomach) reactions and Cyrus's are in the spine.


	2. The Fall/Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, this is the second, longer part of my Harlockshipping fic! It more or less continues from the last scene so keep that in mind, and enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only noticed halfway through this a certain character's age. While it doesn't mess up the core dynamic it does make a few scenes feel either awkward or hilarious so I decided to keep the character in regardless.

The walk back to Po Town carried back to the same uncomfortable quiet as when they had walked down. Guzma would have called it worse, actually, given that Cyrus put away his houndoom.

He figured he should say something. That even if Cyrus went away things wouldn’t change or be over. The encouraging game wasn’t his kind, though. Through the mist and rain they reentered Shady House without having said anything to each other.

Guzma stopped at the bottom of the stairs and waited. Once he heard Cyrus close the door to his room he went up to see if Plumeria was in the one next door. She sat at her organized desk typing away on the laptop. Plumeria turned her head to talk to him.

“How’d it-“

“ _Yo,_ ” Guzma said in a quick but low tone of voice.

Plumeria wrinkled her eyebrows but understood what he meant. Guzma went on to explain what Nanu told him. After he did so he went back to his room to think it over. It wasn’t long before Plumeria turned up to talk about it.

When she entered Guzma was seated on the throne idling around online. He noticed she held a tablet in one hand. She did have a laptop but he remembered nothing about a tablet.

“When’d you get that?”

“ _Doesn’t matter,_ I’m givin’ it to Cyrus before he leaves. Guy doesn’t really have a lot besides the clothes and pokémon he came here with.”

Guzma shrugged in reaction and set his laptop on the end table nearby.

“ _Okay._ Why’re you tellin’ me this?”

“So you don’t freak out seein’ him with it.”

Plumeria swiped at the screen.

“ _And._ ”

“And?”

“To tell you Cyrus’ll probably gonna wanna say somethin’ to you before he leaves. I’ve seen this sorta stuff before. When he does, _really listen,_ alright? And mean what you say when you-“

“ _Plumes_ you’re killin’ me here.”

She stopped in her lecture to take note of his expression. Guzma leaned off the back of the throne towards her.

“Thanks for all that. Ya boy’s got this, though.”

Plumeria took a few seconds of silence before she cracked a half smile.

“I hope so,” she said. With nothing else she took her leave.

 

Cyrus hadn’t fallen immediately asleep upon returning to Shady House. This is despite the fact he felt fatigue tug at him to fall asleep. His thoughts, the worst ones, were keeping him awake with the turmoil they brought.

Back on the beach things had been so perfect. The sunset, the atmosphere; everything seemed to fall into the perfect rhythm. He had been inches away from saying, or maybe only half admitting, his feelings to Guzma. As of now the sense of failure ate at him along with the other thoughts.

The curiosity to see the rest of Alola was amidst the turmoil. A curiosity driven by the need to catch up on all the advancements he had missed. And to see what Alola had in its reservoir of life energy. Yet, there was also the desire to stay where he could be nearest to Guzma.

Even thinking the name was sending shudders through his body. Such a strong sensation was this desire. It felt like a paradox; that it was both a new sensation and also one he had known all along. Desire stayed burrowed deep inside his chest to cause inflammation every time he remembered a connection to it.

In the middle of all there was the shame of being _selfish._ It spoke in a voice Cyrus couldn’t seem to erase; one engrained into him since youth.

He lay on the bed with his face towards the window. Rain pattered on and on as it usually did in Po Town. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. The world felt reduced to nature, to him, and his turmoil.

Cyrus didn’t know how many hours passed by in that state. He only noticed when he felt he had to motivate himself beyond it. Nine years in a mind numbing world and would he let _this_ simple decision stop him? It felt simple compared to the number of other decisions he had made.

The door to his room opened interrupting the thought process. Cyrus listened as someone stepped in. There was the soft noise of something being left on the nightstand. A breathy sigh followed and then the door closed. When they left, Cyrus sat up to see what it was. He reached over to pick up a black rectangle with a note attached to it.

After he read the note Cyrus pushed a button and started figuring out how the tablet worked. It helped to keep his mind too preoccupied to be self-loathing. He wondered as to what to look up first when he remembered the paper Nanu had given him. Cyrus dug it out from where he had hidden it inside a corner of the nightstand.

Twenty minutes later and he had poured over a multitude of articles on Galactic Industries. Cyrus had stopped to stare at a picture of Saturn aged by nine years. Much like the last time he thought about Saturn, all he could see was that eager to please youth. The phrases rang quieter this time in his ears.

At the same time Cyrus felt more at peace. Like the topic could be let alone and not have a need to gnaw at him. He closed his eyes to try and drink in the emotion, relief. It seemed to calm down the turmoil of his thoughts.

Cyrus opened his eyes to stare at the window. The pattering of rain had disappeared completely in the early hours of morning. It was something new he had likely slept through without ever being aware of.

He should be trying to move beyond Team Galactic as well. Being dropped in Alola can’t be made out to be nothing. Cyrus set the tablet down and moved off the bed. Not knowing where he would have to go Cyrus slipped on his shoes. Maybe it was due to the spurr of the moment but desire flared up from where it had been at rest.

As he approached the door he listened. No thoughts or doubts emerged to stop him, not even the one which had scathed him all that time.

 

Guzma stood on the balcony leaning onto the railing. He had his hood up and made himself busy gazing into the dark places of Po Town. It was around two in the morning once again. The restlessness in him wouldn’t let him sleep easy. He guessed it would stay like this even after Cyrus left. _Ugh,_ could he even force himself to visit Melemele Island? At least often enough to not make it feel like Cyrus had disappeared?

He heard the crackle of glass come from behind him. Guzma looked over his shoulder to see who had walked out from inside the house. To his surprise Cyrus was climbing out of the broken window frame. He looked just as he did hours ago when the sun was up. Guzma took off his hood to get a second look. It was still Cyrus who made a sweeping observation of the balcony.

“What’re you doing awake?”

Cyrus stepped forward until he was beside him. Guzma followed the approach with his eyes. Cyrus kept his face aimed at the mist over Po Town.

“Simple. I can’t sleep.”

Guzma opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it and closed it. He turned back around to face the town as well. There was a stray bolt of lightning. Thunder rolled overhead to fill the silence.

“I want to stay here,” began Cyrus.

Guzma couldn’t help but look at him as he talked.

“I want to stay here with you.”

Cyrus stopped to turn towards him but their eyes didn’t meet. He went on after a pause.

“Guzma, you in particular have given me so much. You’ve shown me things, you have provided for me, and you _keep_ doing it. To me, a mere stranger thrown into your company. The _compassion_ and _passion_ you keep showing to me it _simply,_ ” Cyrus cut off due to the emotion rising in his voice.

Their hands met on the balcony railing. Pushing through the emotion Cyrus looked him in the eyes.

“I don’t want to remain the same person I once was. _I don’t want_ to stay a stranger to my emotions. Restraining them has got me nowhere. I want to _explore_ them, to _feel_ them, and I want to do it _here_ , with _you,_ in Alola, in anyplace that has _you_ in it.”

Guzma saw how tears were beginning to form in Cyrus’s eyes. It made him nervous but he didn’t interrupt. He wanted to hear everything because it made his heart race. Not the same way like a pokémon battle or when he got angry. This made his heart race for a different reason. In his mind, Guzma wanted to remember the way this moment looked.

Lightning appeared and thunder rumbled louder overhead. Neither of them paid it mind.

“I want to love you, Guzma.”

The words sent shudders through Guzma’s body and made his skin chill and prickle. It felt like back when Cyrus had dealt with the brats. He struggled to make a coherent sentence in his mind about what to say.

Meanwhile, Cyrus had averted his eyes and let a few tears of raw emotion fall from his face. Guzma blinked realizing he was holding back tears of his own. He sucked in his breath and noticed his hand on Cyrus’s. Guzma tried to speak a few times before finding his voice.

“You’re always gonna surprise me, Cy. I didn’t, I mean.” Guzma muttered under his breath at his clumsiness. Man of the century here, folks.

“I gotta take time to think about this. ‘Cause, I mean, you deserve _all the best,_ Cyrus.”

Cyrus blinked slowly in reaction. Guess he really expected an immediate yes or no. Guzma felt he was right, Cyrus did deserve the best. Even if that meant putting a celebration or whatever on hold.

I wanna make sure if, if we do this, that it ain’t half best. You wanna give it your all I should too, yeah?”

Cyrus nodded and Guzma gave his hand a squeeze.

“I’m not gonna take forever. Soon as I know I’ll come find you.”

A flash of lightning illuminated the balcony in better light. For a few brief seconds Guzma caught sight of a red blush on Cyrus’s face. His expression appeared to be masking his real reaction. The rest of it fell back to shadow when the flash ended. Cyrus took back his hand.

“Please don’t keep me waiting,” he said as he left the balcony.

Guzma watched him go. He stepped quietly up to the window frame and leaned in to listen. When he heard the distant door be shut all the tension went out of him. Had he been tense like that the entire time? Guzma stepped back and squatted low to the ground.

“ _Hooh._ ” He rubbed at his face as if the almost-tears were still there. “ _Sacred Tapu Koko and Lele_ what was that?”

The weakness in his knees happened in juxtaposition to the jitters in his hands. _just got confessed to by Cyrus, that’s what._

Guzma pressed against his closed eyelids with his palms. All the excitement bounced around inside his system. Words and recent images repeated themselves in his mind and on his tongue. It took a minute or so to calm down and think it over.

“Guzma, _what are you doin?_ Why didn’t you-? Alright, _forget it._ Live with it.”

He dropped his hands and stared into empty space. It was too early to ask Plumeria for help. Guzma had already given himself some time, so maybe it could still work out. That him saying no for the time being wasn’t as dumb as it sounded. Just a brief once-over with Plumeria to make sure he wasn’t nuts for doing this. Part of him felt like he really, really shouldn’t take too long to decide.

“What deciding? Like, _am I really gonna_ say anythin’ else other than, uh, _yes?_ ”

Most of his mind was made up on the yes bit. Somewhere in the far back, though, a doubt hung on by a thread. It served to remind him of all the last times Guzma had felt like this; all the pain that had followed. It wouldn’t be right to jump.

Guzma ruffled his hair and stood back up. He went inside to his room where he decided he would have to wait it out. Guzma draped himself over the throne not bothering with the laptop. The doubt kept itself suspended in his thoughts as time passed by, and he fell in and out of sleep.

He jerked himself out of a doze, at random, to check his watch. It was kind of early in the day, but Guzma knew Plumeria would be awake by now. She might hate him later for barging in.

When he remembered why Guzma sat up out of the throne. _This was important_ consequences could be dealt with. He rubbed sleep from his eyes as he stumbled out the door.

Stairs, he had to remember how stairs worked. In time Guzma made it to Plumeria’s bedroom door after creeping past Cyrus’s door. When he opened the door Plumeria had been in the middle of doing her hair.

“ _Guzma,_ ” she started immediately shooting him a dirty look.

He entered the room and shut the door close behind him. Guzma held up his hands.

“ _Listen,_ for a sec, please.”

Plumeria twisted around in her chair but kept her hands busy with some oil. She situated her mouth into a tight frown and gave a nod. He knew to be direct as possible.

“Cyrus,” Guzma paused to find the right way to say it, “ _confessed_ to me last night. Early morning. Whatever.”

“Congrats.”

“ _I didn’t say yes._ ”

Plumeria froze and her eyes widened in sheer surprise. She put her hands down into her lap.

“Why?”

“’Cause I, y’know, the last time… _times._ ”

Her surprise calmed down and she nodded.

“Kay, I get that. You followin’ up on what we talked about an wanna know what I think, right?”

Guzma had a sudden intuition as to what she would say.

“I knew he liked you. Ya pulled a good thing outta him. He’d be a pretty ok match. Now you get out there and say yes, _you dummy._ Idiot. _Bonehead!_ "

Plumeria rose up out of her chair as she talked. Guzma muttered an unheard response and quickly opened the door careful not to trip on the way out. He got a few feet from the door in case she decided to chase which she didn’t. Guzma gave a sigh in relief.

Though, with her words, the last string of doubt had fallen away. The jitters from way earlier came back and he hustled. Guzma opened the door to Cyrus’s room but didn’t see him there. He went to check the balcony which was getting covered in a light shower due to the morning. It was empty. As a precaution he found a window and checked to see that the outside gazebo was unoccupied. It was also empty of anybody.

Guzma started to get nervous until he started down the staircase. Cyrus stood in front of one of the floor to ceiling windows near the entrance. He had found time to change clothes; the black sweater was back with a different pair of patterned sweat pants. Cyrus had his hands clasped behind his back and looked deep in thought. Guzma darted his eyes around and found no one else nearby.

He walked up to Cyrus trying to keep himself from falling out. Words, he reminded himself to use words and not just stand there. Although, it was hard to, because now that he looked Cyrus had a, no, the _prettiest_ face and had turned to look and eyes and.

“Are you alright?”

And Guzma did exactly what he said he wouldn’t do. _Focus._

“Uh, _yeah,_ I just. I got you an answer.”

Cyrus unclasped his hands and turned to face him. He appeared ready to accept whatever he said. Guzma took a short breath and reached out to take both of Cyrus’s hands into his own.

“I ain’t never done anything like this before. At least, nothin’ that ended right. But I’m gonna say yes. That I wanna, _really wanna,_ get to know you and love you, babe.”

They both started at the drop of the last word. It had kinda just slipped out on its own. Guzma grinned to try and cover it up.

Cyrus stayed quiet, but his face slowly broke out into a soft smile. It made Guzma clutch Cyrus’s hands to his chest on instinct. He blushed and tried to find more words to say, but nothing coherent would come together.

Cyrus beat him to it.

“Thank you,” he said almost in a whisper.

He took back his hands in order to reach up and wrap his arms around Guzma’s neck. Guzma bent down when he realized all Cyrus wanted to do was hug him.  
When he noticed this was the closest they had ever been Guzma’s face lit up with an even redder blush. If that was possible. He could feel the intense heat and how his heart fluttered inside his ribcage.

Guzma strained to keep it together. Melting at everything Cyrus did wouldn’t exactly be good for his image.

When Cyrus pulled back Guzma’s mind scrambled again to find something to say. It had been too long it would be awkward _c’mon Guz._

“ _So,_ so,” Guzma started with a hand gesture, “wanna, uh, spend some time together? In my room? We can just chill."

He felt Cyrus was keeping it together a lot better than he was. The guy hadn’t reacted much beyond a faint blush and avoiding direct eye contact. He did the latter just then.

“That sounds nice.”

Together they went back upstairs with Cyrus stopping by his room to get the tablet. Guzma used the moment alone to take a breath and calm down.

When they entered his bedroom Cyrus stopped a few feet from the door to take in the sight. It made Guzma self-aware of the general messiness he lived in. He waited for Cyrus to speak first.

“The glass bottles?” He asked innocently enough.

“I smash ‘em when I get mad. That’s, uh, also what the paint is for.”

Guzma watched Cyrus absorb the information. His eyes fell towards the chest which still brimmed with Bugium Z crystals. Guzma walked over to his side to answer when he asked.

“Did anyone tell you ‘bout Z-crystals?” Cyrus nodded. “I was never given a Z-Ring as a kid. Told me I was strong enough without it _an’ yet._ ”

Guzma shook his head to clear it of anger before the emotion got too intense.

“I had grunts take any so that way, even without a Z-Ring, no one could challenge me as a bug type user. Thinkin’ about it, I should probably turn these over to Nanu. He’s probably gonna have to deal ‘em out along with the Darkinium-Z he’s got.”

Cyrus seemed to want to ask more but held back for some reason. Instead, he wandered up to the throne. Guzma followed for a few steps. Cyrus looked back at him with the sure sign of a question on his face.

“If I’mma be honest, it’s there ‘cause it’s the only chair bigger than me,” he admitted with a shrug and a smile.

Cyrus gave a small smile in return. He wandered back down to his side and Guzma gestured to the bed. Cyrus sat down first and Guzma followed after he had grabbed his laptop and earbuds.

At first, they kept their distance. Then, very quietly, Cyrus moved himself close enough to lean with his back supported by Guzma’s right side. It was a very plain touch, but it made Guzma’s heart flutter again.

He made himself busy with surfing online. At odd intervals Guzma glanced over at Cyrus to make sure things were alright. A pleasant silence settled itself down and he forgot his nerves.

That was until he looked over one time and noticed Cyrus’s head drooped onto his chest. Guzma took out his other earbud and craned his neck. He saw that Cyrus had fallen asleep against him.

Guzma caught himself before he could even start to go to pieces about how adorable that was. He thought it over and figured if Cyrus stayed like that he would get a crick in his neck.

Putting the laptop and tablet off to one side Guzma pulled Cyrus into his lap. He adjusted to where Cyrus’s head would rest comfortably on his chest. Guzma gave up his jacket as an afterthought and wrapped it around Cyrus’s shoulders.

With Cyrus situated, Guzma felt the nervous excitement bubble up again. He swallowed it back and pulled out his cellphone. It didn’t get used often. Some way or other he always found a way to break it so it was a last resort for sending messages.

>   
>  ‘Plumes.’  
>  ‘Plumes, he fell asleep on me.’  
>  ‘Is that such a bad thing, guz?’  
> 

Guzma rolled his eyes and tapped out a reply.

>   
>  ‘What do i do’  
>  ‘Just let him sleep. i heard him stay awake last night so he needs it.’  
>  ‘Aight i can do that.’  
> 

He had started typing out something else when Plumeria cut in.

>   
>  ‘An don’t start tellin me how cute he looks.’  
>  ‘Why would i do that??’  
>  ‘Guz. you can’t say that to me no more.’  
>  ‘Not after that time w/your masquerain an golisopod.’  
>  ‘OK OK.’  
>  ‘Also i’m gonna be gone to route thirteen starting today.’  
> 

Guzma squinted his eyes at the screen. He typed out a response.

>   
>  ‘Uh ok.’  
>  ‘Why do i need to know this?’  
>  ‘Are you doin this on purpose, plumes, cuz it’s not like that.’  
> 

Although, when he did think of it like that, Guzma got all sorts of red in the face.

  
‘Naw i know you two aint like that.’  
‘I got some things to do and decided to stay with my bf.’  


Guzma opened his mouth to articulate a loud reaction but shut it when he remembered the weight of Cyrus’s head on his chest. He put the residual energy into the reply.

>   
>  ‘WHAT’  
>  ‘WHEN SINCE WHEN?’  
>  ‘Does it matter? guz this is why i didn’t say anything.’  
>  ‘IT KINDA DOES’  
>  ‘Who is it.’  
>  ‘it’s molayne.’  
>  ‘the NERDY STEEL TYPE user??? ain’t he in the elite four now??’  
>  ‘he’s a nice guy, guz, an i like him just fine.’  
> 

He rolled his shoulders and tried to keep his agitation to a minimum.

>   
>  ‘I just thought we were close yknow.’  
>  ‘We are you doofus. you just got busy like usual. ‘  
>  ‘It’s ok, guz.’  
>  ‘I know. just, you’re a poison type, an he’s a steel type’  
>  ‘Guz you keep that pokémon type horoscope stuff outta this.’  
> 

Guzma shifted where he sat while staying mindful of Cyrus. Now that he had been reminded, Cyrus did happen to have a cute sleeping face. It was so soft he wanted to touch it. Maybe that would be too much? He turned his attention to the phone.

>   
>  ‘hey plumes question.’  
>  ‘Not now guz i gotta get goin.’  
>  ‘I’ll catch up later.’  
> 

With a sigh Guzma put the phone away. He dragged the laptop over to where he could reach it and still see the screen.

About half an hour passed by when Cyrus started to move on his own. Guzma stopped with the laptop feeling a bite of nervousness inside his guts.

“Did I fall asleep?”

Cyrus sat up and noticed where exactly he had been napping. A small strike of surprise appeared on his face.

“Yeah. It’s ok though,” Guzma said with a grin.

Cyrus next noticed the fact he was wearing Guzma’s jacket. His face began to take on a faint blush again. He might have remained quiet when something else crossed his mind.

“That was…that has to be the first time I haven’t had that dream.”

“Dream?”

Cyrus looked him in the face to reply.

“I’ve been having a reoccurring dream ever since I came to stay here. This is the first I can remember not dreaming it.”

Guzma grinned a little wider. To think they were only hours into being together and he was already doing this good. He wrapped his arms around Cyrus and pulled him into a hug.

“Ya boy’s got you. If you need to use me as your bed to keep this dream away, that’s fine by me.”

Their faces were close when he spoke. Cyrus avoided his eyes and the blush deepened in color. He had a smile on his face, and Guzma took that as a good sign.

“I might have to take you up on that soon.”

Guzma raised his eyebrows.

“That bad of a dream?”

Cyrus moved one of his hands to his neck. He rubbed at it as if trying to remember.

“I think I was being strangled. Or, perhaps constricted is a better term.”

A small shock went through Guzma. He heard the matter-of-fact way Cyrus said it and couldn’t believe it.

“You been just livin’ with it? This whole time?”

Cyrus stared in front of him facing away from Guzma when he replied.

“There’s not much to be done about it, is there?”

Guzma pulled him close enough to rest his face against Cyrus’s neck. For the moment, his concern overpowered the nervousness he got about being so close. He felt Cyrus move his head slightly to accommodate his face.

“I get goin’ through stuff alone but. If there’s one thing I can guess about _this stuff_ it’s that when you got someone you tell ‘em. An’ I want you to tell me.”

Cyrus moved again this time to reach up and touch part of Guzma’s face. Guzma couldn’t see but he guessed Cyrus would have that contemplative look.

“Give me time, Guzma.” He brushed a few fingers through Guzma’s hair. It felt electrifyingly _great_ but he stayed focused on the subject.

“At least, say you’ll sleep with me tonight.” Guzma paused. “ _I mean,_ like in the same bed. It’s big enough, your’s would be a squeeze.”

“I will,” Cyrus eventually agreed softly.

They stayed together like that for a few more minutes. Then, Guzma felt the creeping pain of an incoming neck cramp and decided to sit up before it happened. He suggested they go and eat since Plumeria wouldn’t be around to remind them.

Cyrus felt himself grow tired sometime in the evening. The day had passed by peacefully after they had grown used to each other. Once all the rush and new experiences seeped in Cyrus was surprised he hadn’t felt fatigued earlier.

When he mentioned sleep it seemed Guzma had been waiting for the mention of it. Although, the only thing Guzma seemed to do before bed was remove his jacket so the anticipation felt strange. The removal revealed a white tank top underneath. Cyrus took note of his muscle definition but said nothing on it.

There was the matter of how exactly to sleep on the bed. Cyrus was allowed to settle in first then Guzma went around turning off lights. The bedroom had no window meaning the only light source came from the crack under the door. Despite the lack of light Guzma managed to find his way to the bed.

Cyrus lay on his side facing away from Guzma. Even with all the time they spent together these intimate settings made his stomach coil. He couldn’t decipher whether the evoked emotion was positive or negative.

Guzma moved a few times on the bed to settle in. His arm slid slowly over Cyrus’s side and lightly wrapped around his hip. It sent small shivers throughout his spine, but in a good way he decided. The sensation in his stomach faded as the shivers remained.

Cyrus lost track of when he fell asleep. He was instead immediately aware of the dream happening. The scene which had long taken place in darkness became illuminated by unseen light. He didn’t need to see to know what was binding him about the arms, waist, and legs. The knowledge handed itself over.

Chains, chains discolored by time and blood cut into his flesh. They were pulled off at odd angles so he couldn’t see where they ended in the shadows. Cyrus struggled to view what else was around him slightly wishing the darkness would dispell. There seemed to be nothing but a void above and beneath. Off in the indistinct distance he heard water drip.

He wondered why turning his head had been such a struggle. The chain around it tightened as if to answer the question. Cyrus gasped and gagged but knew nothing could break these chains. Not the ones of his own making. The one on his neck tightened by another few links.

The shadows appeared to be moving in on his field of vision. Cyrus recognized then the chokehold must be killing him. _Nothing absolutely nothing could be done. Inevitable. Death at his own hand, how fitting._

A voice interrupted the thoughts. It spoke again loud enough to replace the dripping noise in the background. The voice caught Cyrus’s attention as if by a trained response. He blinked his eyes struggling to see past the dark patches.

“ _Cyrus,_ Cyrus,” said a whisper urgently.

When he opened his eyes the darkness remained, but Cyrus felt the chains were gone. The shock of realizing he could breathe made him gasp for air. He felt a hand on his cheek which went away when he gasped.

“ _Thank the Tapu,_ you okay? Cyrus?”

Guzma spoke from above meaning he was probably leaning over him. Cyrus sat up and took a few more breaths, slower this time. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Babe, talk to me. I heard you mumblin’ and shakin’ around.”

The memory of the dream felt vivid in his mind. It was so unnatural and indescribable how it played itself in echoes and repeats. The accuracy of the pain scared him, especially in how it stayed with him in wakefulness.

What scared Cyrus more had been the fact he had resigned to it. Had he been resigning to it every time? He shivered and didn’t want to think about it. Cyrus wanted to forget about the dream entirely.

“Guzma.” It was the only thing he could find to say. His voice sounded so small there in the dark. It was despicable but he couldn’t be bothered to hate it just then.

Cyrus moved himself closer to where he thought Guzma to be. He groped around for the general outline and pressed himself closer.

Guzma mumbled a few things under breath, but wrapped his arms around him in an embrace. Cyrus buried his face in Guzma’s chest and tried not to think about the residual dream pain. The way he could feel the chain still wrapped around his neck.

He remembered what Guzma had said earlier in the day. Talk to him, a thought said in his mind. Cyrus turned his head to the side to speak.

“I almost died that in that dream.”

Guzma’s hold on him tightened for a few seconds. Cyrus felt regret sting at him but he put it aside. He reached up with a hand and felt for Guzma’s neck. Guzma seemed to start to question what he was doing until Cyrus moved his hand away.

Cyrus then moved to grasp Guzma about the shoulders and buried his face into the crook of Guzma’s neck.

He wished they could be even closer than this; something about the pressure helped soothe his nerves. It was the same way with his pokémon when he had been distressed and alone. The way he held onto them satisfied something.

“I don’t want to leave. Ever.”

Cyrus felt Guzma lean his head closer to his. He pressed his fingers hard against where they were on Guzma’s shoulders.

“I won’t let it happen easy, babe,” Guzma responded in an almost whisper.

The dream’s memory came up again in conjunction to another awful thought. _Selfish for this, too._

Cyrus distracted himself by listening to Guzma’s breathing. The way it coincided or didn’t with his pulse. He closed his eyes and listened closer for the sounds. This couldn’t be selfish; he couldn’t be punished for this.

Later, he opened his eyes and realized at once he was lying horizontal instead of vertical. Cyrus moved his hands to better inspect the situation. It seemed he had fallen asleep again on Guzma.

Cyrus was lying across from him judging by how he almost knocked him on the chin. Guzma had an arm wrapped around his waist more tightly this time. He snored every once in a while which didn’t surprise Cyrus in the least. It at least wasn’t a hard snore.

He strained to hear for the sound of rain. It was muffled by the room, but it seemed to be past the usual morning patterns which were softer. Cyrus knew they should get out of bed soon. When he spared a vacant thought the memory of the dream’s pain came to linger in the back of his mind. Cyrus attempted to burrow deeper into the bed and forget it again.

As he debated which would be worse, the snoring or getting on with the day, Guzma started to show signs of waking up.

Guzma and Cyrus at some point got out of bed and progressed with the day. Cyrus went back to his room to change. Guzma went downstairs in the kitchen where he said he would be making brunch.

He heard someone enter the kitchen and turned to look. When he did look over from the stove he had to stare.

Cyrus wore a new shirt Plumeria used to own. Guzma knew because she’d worn it once, said it wasn’t her style, and left it alone. It was a simple black sweater but around the neckline and elbows were bright gracidea flowers. They were embroidered into the shirt. Cyrus wore it with a look of nostalgia on his face in the form of a small smile. Altogether, Guzma forced himself to look back at the stove. Burned brunch would not be good.

“Is something wrong?”

“No. No, no,” Guzma replied taking out his phone with one hand.

He tapped on its screen and resisted snapping it completely in half.

>   
>  ‘Plumes. what the why’  
>  ‘Did you give cy the shirt on purpose’  
>  ‘Plumes ANSWER ME.’  
> 

As Guzma hit send he noticed Cyrus eyeing the phone. He closed out the text message screen and held it out to him.

“Is this what phones look like now?”

Cyrus took it and started turning it over in his hands. He hit the home button to figure out how the screen was turned on. Guzma went back to the food as he talked.

“Yeah. If I gotta say anything, it’s that they keep gettin’ slimmer.” Guzma took the frying pan off the stove. “Always too easy for me to break.”

He portioned out the food onto plates that were on the counter. When Guzma looked back at Cyrus he almost dropped the pan.

“ _Hey!_ ”

Cyrus had what Guzma guessed to be the guts of the device in his hands. He was startled by Guzma’s voice and had to keep himself from dropping anything. Guzma set down the pan back on the stove and walked over.

“These things cost too much to just disassemble like that, Cy.”

“I apologize, I was curious. Though.” Cyrus spoke as he put the phone back together in seconds much to Guzma’s amazement. “The reliance on touch screen feels off.”

Guzma took the phone back and turned it on. Plumeria hadn’t responded so he shoved it away into a pants pocket.

“It’s whatever gets me by.”

As they ate brunch Guzma caught a certain expression on Cyrus’s face. He seemed to be getting lost in thought. It reminded Guzma of last night, and he wondered if Cyrus was dwelling on that dream. He hadn’t been able to explain it in full before falling asleep or the following morning.

It brought to Guzma’s mind how scared Cyrus had been. He felt again the sensation of being held onto so tightly like it meant life or death. It had thrown him off to see someone he was close to scared like that.

The entire time Guzma wished he could have done something other than act tongue tied. He resolved himself to try and get better at those moments.

Brunch ended and they idled in the kitchen. Cyrus didn’t seem to be getting out of his thoughts any time soon. Guzma figured he should be the one to do it. Then his phone buzzed and he had to check.

>   
>  ‘Hey, the guy needed more clothes.’  
>  ‘It fits dont it?’  
> 

Guzma grit his teeth a little as he replied.

>   
>  ‘Plumes i know he’s small but’  
>  ‘But it fits almost too well yknow.’  
>  ‘Ya killed me again, dude.’  
> 

He peered away from the screen when he noticed Cyrus. The other had stepped closer to his side all of a sudden. Guzma remembered to close out of the screen even if Cyrus couldn’t exactly read it.

“What’s up?”

Guzma saw the way Cyrus darted his eyes off to one side. He braced himself for the dream talk. It had to happen sooner or later.

“Would it be too early in this to, say, kiss?”

He locked his knees so he wouldn’t fall. Guzma still swayed a little and managed to catch himself. Of all the things he could expect from today _that_ wasn’t the one.

“ _Uh, yes,_ I mean, I don’t, I haven’t ever done that, but _yeah_ of course.”

Cyrus gave a small sigh in relief and took one of his hands to lead him. A nervous smile worked itself onto Guzma’s face. He knew the dream talk was the more adult thing to do, but he couldn’t be blamed for _this_. Not as long as it was what _Cyrus_ wanted to do. He followed him out of the kitchen and outside to the gazebo.

Unfortunately, the atmosphere provided wasn’t romantic. The daytime storm raged in its entire rainy, thunderous day-to-day splendor. When the wind blew they could still get wet even under the gazebo. Despite that they stayed out there.

Kissing wasn’t easy Guzma had to realize. Their first try ended with the unsettling sound of a clack as their teeth knocked together. The second and third times weren’t even remotely remarkable, and just as awkward.

At that point, Guzma was beside himself with all manner of shame, embarrassment, and frustration. He covered his face with one hand and muttered the worst things he could think of in Alolan.

Cyrus had gone off to a corner to rethink the situation. Guzma dragged the hand down to cover his mouth. He stared at the ceiling and continued to berate himself. Guzma heard through a break in the rain Cyrus’s footsteps. He took away his hand and stared back down.

“Here, again,” Cyrus said standing in front of Guzma.

The frustration from earlier disappeared to be replaced by the excited energy he got around Cyrus. Guzma started to lean down again when Cyrus stopped him part of the way with a finger on the lips. In his pause, Cyrus slid his hands up until they cupped the sides of his face. It worked to excite him even more, but he tried to put a cap on it.

Guzma watched as Cyrus leaned the rest of the way up. He stopped with their faces almost touching. Guzma didn’t move he felt his heart had worked its way into his throat. If he moved something would be lost. In the back of his mind, Guzma noticed how hot he felt his face was getting.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting Cyrus moved closer and Guzma had to close his eyes. This time their lips locked together more naturally. The second they did, and the ones after, Guzma swore the sound of his pulse drowned out the thunder. It was just them with the warmth of their lips serving as the sole connection between them.

When it broke the world flooded back in with its noise. Guzma opened his eyes and a rush of ecstasy ricocheted itself around his system. He stared down at Cyrus who still hovered close.

“ _Now that_ …I could do all day.”

Without much warning Cyrus closed the gap again. He meant to deepen the kiss this time. As he pressed his lips to try he moved his hands to brush into Guzma’s hair. It made Guzma’s body jerk under his fingers. Cyrus felt the hands that were previously hovering around his waist grab at him.

Cyrus wished he had found the courage to ask for this sooner. This sensation, the emotions it gave him, they went far beyond what he could get in an embrace. It felt like his chest would burst and spill over with warmth that instead spread to his veins. He could see how this would be an addiction to people.

At last his breath ran out and they pulled away from each other to stare into each other’s eyes. The joy in his blood remained as an after-glow.

Guzma had a satisfied smile on his face. He went to rest their foreheads together and thunder boomed somewhere above. Cyrus removed his hands from Guzma’s hair careful not to yank on any of it.

“We should get out of this rain, Cy,” Guzma said with a laugh in his voice.

“We should. I apologize for dragging you out here; I wanted to be able to see this place from my window.”

Guzma shook his head a little but kept the smile on his face.

“You are so corny, wow.”

Cyrus noticed the smile on his own face hadn’t dimmed. They stayed close together a few more moments before the wind and rain started to become too much.

Guzma led the way back inside Shady House and to the kitchen. He made them both mugs of hot chocolate.

“I like it,” Guzma started, “when you touch my hair.”

He waited seeing as Guzma seemed to have more to say.

“I mean, I’ve had bug pokémon crawl in there before-“

Cyrus’s hand jerked in reaction. Awful timing, he had been in the middle of taking a sip. He held it together as Guzma shot him a suspicious raised eyebrow.

“-but it feels different. What? Are you laughing?”

Guzma sidled over to where Cyrus had been leaning with his back on the counter. Cyrus suppressed the urge to laugh and let out the faintest snicker. He then averted his gaze and lowered the mug.

“No, of course not.”

“ _Hey,_ ” Guzma dragged the word out and leaned a bit closer. Cyrus resisted a radical impulse and instead kept a pleasant smile on his face.

“I’mma have to get you to laugh _sometime._ ”

“Many have tried. No one succeeds,” Cyrus said in a sudden grim tone.

Guzma flashed him a confident smile.

“None of them were me, babe. I’ll pay you back for that one time with the meowth.”

Cyrus turned his eyes towards him and stayed silent. His mind went back to the prior conversation topic.

“What else do you like?” He ended up asking.

Guzma sipped his hot chocolate and pondered the question.

“I like it when you get real into talkin’. Like when you shut down those brats. That whole _emotion_ and.” Guzma struggled to put it into words and tried with hand gestures. It proved entertaining to watch, but he decided to stop after a few.

“Ah, I see. I did used to write my own speeches.”

Cyrus diverted his gaze towards the mug in his hands. A faint memory filled with the noise of cheers bubbled up.

“Really?”

“Mhm. It was how I,” he paused a second, “used to captivate the attention of my grunts.”

Cyrus mentally shook off the creeping sensation of the past. He went back to addressing Guzma directly.

“In the Distortion World I would occupy my time by remembering and retelling myths. Some of those I embellished to account for the things I had witnessed.”

Guzma’s eyes took on an excited light. Cyrus sensed what might happen next.

“Can you tell me one of those?”

“Right now?”

“Well, maybe not right now, but like _today._ ”

“I will think about it,” he said then took a sip from his mug. In the back of his mind he was already considering which one. It would feel nice to share something like that, or it should. There had been a variety of myths in Sinnoh to memorize; perhaps the one on creation would be best to start with.

Guzma let a few beats of silence fall before speaking again.

“So, what do you like?”

Cyrus found out why it had taken a while for Guzma to answer. It proved difficult to decipher a specific response or like from his jumble of recent memories. He ended up staring down into his hot chocolate again as he answered.

“I like tight embraces, they’re comforting. And I like to go places with you.”

Cyrus held the mug with both his hands to feel its residual heat.

“I apparently also like to fall asleep on you.”

He heard Guzma give a short laugh. It was nice to elicit such a response.

“Am I just a bed to you?”

Cyrus went to take a sip but paused just before to answer.

“Perhaps the best one I have ever slept on in my life.”

Guzma laughed again for longer this time. Cyrus hid his smile inside the cup and let it fall away. He set the cup down after he had drained it.

“Do you have any of those nicknames for me?”

Cyrus tilted his head slightly.

“Y’know like how I call you “babe.””

He averted his gaze and felt a faint blush rise onto his cheeks. Now, there were a number of things he could call Guzma by. Cyrus didn’t feel he could exactly settle on one at the moment. He heard the tap of Guzma’s mug onto the counter.

“ _C’mon_ I wanna know. I wanna hear it.”

“I can’t exactly decide like this.” Guzma had started to lean close to the side of his face. The impulse from earlier rose up and Cyrus withheld it again.

“Oh, really?”

“What if I told you one of the myths instead?”

Guzma leaned away and Cyrus felt relief. He shouldn’t act on every impulse.

“A’ight but I am gonna hear it one of these days."

They left the kitchen after cleaning up a few dishes. Inside Guzma’s bedroom Cyrus situated himself on the bed. He sat on his knees and began the process of recalling the story to mind. The process was interrupted by him watching what Guzma started doing.

Guzma had released two pokémon out into the room. Golisopod and a masquerain appeared to take up the center. The masquerain fluttered up to Guzma’s face with a soft chitter.

He gave it a soft pat and directed the two into what he wanted. To Cyrus’s confusion, Guzma situated himself into the lap of his golisopod, and his masquerain flew down and sat in his lap. The golisopod rested its large claws around Guzma apparently used to the action. Cyrus continued to stare until Guzma noticed.

“What? I like to be comfortable for this sorta thing. ‘Specially if it’s gonna be a story.”

“Alright, I understand,” he said with as much affirmation as he could muster.

Cyrus closed his eyes until he found the starting place of the myth in his mind.

>   
>  _‘In the universe’s beginning there was only an egg. It hatched of its own accord, and from it came the Original One. It drifted alone in the cosmos and grew lonesome as its only company was stars and planets. With so much power at its disposal it decided to cure itself of the loneliness._
> 
> <
> 
> _‘From the Original One it created Three. Dialga, whose creation and heartbeat led to the flow of time. Palkia, whose breath led to the expansion of space itself. Between them matter formed and life on our planet became possible. It was pleased to see life flourish._
> 
> _‘The Original One created the third, Giratina, because it knew with light comes shadow. It understood balance must exist to attain perfection. With life flowing on its precious planet the Original One took notice of the humans therein. It felt they desired more and made from itself an egg._
> 
> _‘From the egg hatched another three who came to embody the human spirit. Mesprit, who inspired human emotion. Uxie, who gave humans knowledge. And Azelf, who gave human beings the ability of willpower. The Original One tied these three to Dialga and Palkia to further the effort to balance its creation. It was pleased again to watch the near-perfect humans, pokemon, and their spirits._
> 
> _Giratina had been left to roam the planet. Where it went shadow followed and it did as it desired. When the Original One realized the destruction Giratina could cause it decided to act. It created a world opposite of ours, one where time and space and matter were distorted. Into this world Giratina was sealed and confined. The Original One tied the world to ours with Giratina as the thread. This is so that if one was threatened the other would be forced to act._
> 
> _‘The Three were balanced and the embodiments of human spirit were sent to safe havens. With its perfection in place the Original One felt it could rest. Into a pocket of space it disappeared unable to be found again by any of its creations. The old stories go that because the creation started with Sinnoh the Original One’s resting place should be there.’_  
> 

The myth ended Cyrus shifted on the bed to massage his knees. He felt a little tired; it had been a while since he had talked so long and so intently. While he was distracted Guzma rose up out of his golisopod’s lap and went to pull him into an embrace.

“ _That was so awesome,_ ” Guzma whispered into his hair. Cyrus appreciated the compliment from the confines of Guzma’s broad chest. 

“It was nothing.”

“That ain’t _nothin’,_ Cy, that was so _good._ ”

A smile worked itself onto his face despite the attempt to be modest. Cyrus watched the masquerain flutter into view. Guzma turned his attention to it, and while still holding onto him, held his hand out and let masquerain land on it. At rest it continued to twitch its wings.

Cyrus went to speak when a knock came from the door. It was so unusual they froze for a few seconds before disentangling themselves from each other. Guzma answered the door with his masquerain moved onto his shoulder.

“ _What?_ ”

“Nanu’s outside askin’ for ya boss.”

He noticed the way Guzma’s shoulders tensed up.

“Tell ‘im I’ll be there in a sec.”

The skull grunt went away and Guzma turned back around. He put both the pokémon into their respective balls. Cyrus removed himself from the bed and felt an icy emotion pierce him. He found a part of him hoping this would end without much trouble. The idea of causing strife didn’t sit well with him.

Both he and Guzma went to the outside of Shady House. Nanu stood in the pouring rain face as haggard as every other instance Cyrus saw him. He flicked his red eyes between them.

“Told you it was two days. Somethin’ up?”

Guzma started to talk but Cyrus stopped him with a simple touch on the arm.

“I wish to remain here in Po Town.”

“Indefinitely?” Nanu asked with a small head tilt.

“If the current situation remains the same. I recall you told me to take coming to Alola as a second chance. To try and live. Due to the hospitality of the people in this town I believe I have started. I wish to stay and continue.”

At the last sentence Cyrus dropped his hand towards one of Guzma’s and took it. Guzma squeezed it and stayed quiet. They watched Nanu scratch the back of his head and shake it.

“Well, well, the things that happen when ya aren’t looking. I don’t see why not. I’ll have the things I prepped for your stay on Melemele sent over here instead. I guess this also calls for congratulations?”

At the last line Nanu gave them a smirk.

“ _Nanu!_ ”

“Guzma, it’s not every day you hear that from a kahuna.”

“ _You make it sound like a marriage proposal or somethin’!_ ”

They both started to bicker back and forth. Cyrus turned his head to the side and stared intensely at an abandoned building. Now marriage was a subject he had kept far from his mind. The continued thought of it made his cheeks flush. He put it away deep into his mind fast as he could.

Looking back around, Cyrus saw Nanu had started to walk towards the exit. Guzma tugged him closer to his side with their held hands.

“Thanks for saying all that,” Guzma said to him with a smile.

“I figured I should. You two appear to be on less than desirable terms.”

“So you can tell.”

Even as he spoke Guzma was already leaning down. Cyrus received the kiss eagerly and felt it send warmth through his damp skin. He wanted to savor it longer when a distant voice cut in.

Guzma pulled away and yelled back in his native language. He continued to yell until Cyrus got his attention with a tug of the hand. Guzma looked back at him and said something unintelligible. Cyrus waited patiently for him to realize the situation which he did.

“Sorry babe that was Nanu.”

“As I saw.”

“Wanna go back inside?”

Cyrus nodded and they went. They walked closer together and discussed what to do about dinner. During that time they agreed to wake up early to go visit Ula’Ula Meadow.

Later that night, Cyrus went to make himself comfortable in a better change of clothes. Guzma occupied himself with getting a jar of honey ready. He also decided to change into fresher clothes considering all the rain. Guzma changed pants and pulled an old shirt out of the closet one with a vikavolt design on it.

When Cyrus returned he went straight to the bed. Guzma saw he was wearing the Trial Stamp hoodie again. Did Cyrus even know about the Trial Stamps? Might be something to talk about later. He hoped the red shirt wasn’t underneath it because Nanu had been too aggravating today. Might just gnash his teeth at the sight of it like some tauros. 

Guzma set about turning the lights off like he usually did. As he got on the bed a pair of hands touched him on the chest. Guzma started back, in case he had almost hurt Cyrus, but then the hands pulled him down and closer. He wanted to ask what was going on, but he noticed how similar this felt to last night. Taking a hint he decided to wait and see what Cyrus would want to do.

Guzma’s skin shivered as Cyrus searched for his face in the gloom. Maybe it was the dark, maybe it was the way Cyrus didn’t speak, but everything felt more charged with energy. He felt the weight on the bed shift and Cyrus’s lips closed over his own. If he guessed the angle right Cyrus had been stretching up to make himself taller for once.

Guzma guided Cyrus’s hands to his shoulders to give better support. He broke the kiss for a few seconds to adjust his own hands to grip Cyrus around the waist. As they rejoined in the kiss Guzma relished in the additional skin crawling which followed.

A few more kisses followed; if Guzma had to guess they were getting better with timing when to break for air and when to not. Man, it was hard to think straight.

He felt when Cyrus’s fingers dug into his shoulders a few times . Not clawing at him, exactly, just a tight desperation. No coherent comment could be formed on that front; Guzma decided to stop thinking and stay in the moment.

There was a moment when Cyrus broke away and didn’t go after another kiss. He moved his hands from Guzma’s shoulders to slide them up towards his hair. As Guzma expected his body jerked, a little softer this time since Cyrus had stopped right before digging too deep.

He planted three kisses; one on Guzma’s lips, cheek, and forehead. Each time he whispered a different word; beloved, dearest, and dear.

It made Guzma lean his head back and grin.

“You are still, _so corny._ ”

Cyrus settled his body against him. He rested his head to the side of Guzma’s neck looking up at him as they talked.

“Whatever do you mean?”

Guzma felt his skin ripple where Cyrus’s breath brushed it. It felt nice, but he had to try and think like a person right now.

“Those are like,” he struggled for the right words, “ _old fashioned_ things to say. Stuff out of books and old movies.”

“Do you not like them?”

“I didn’t say that!” Guzma said with fake intensity. He kept his grin and moved his arms to wrap around Cyrus. “I love ‘em just like I love you.”

Guzma felt his heart thud in his chest as the words came out. Part of his mind kicked him for saying it. He watched Cyrus out of his peripheral vision.

Cyrus smiled in the dim light and he brushed his fingers through Guzma’s hair.

“I love you, too,” he said nearly whispering the words. Guzma squeezed him in response. Cyrus let his eyes’ direction drift away from him.

“You are too kind to me.”

“Some people’d say I’m not nice enough.”

They stayed together like that until Guzma noticed Cyrus seemed to be having trouble staying awake. Careful as he could, he moved to lie down with Cyrus still somewhat on top of him. Cyrus didn’t object he simply adjusted to the movement.

Guzma stayed awake to watch him fall asleep. He understood for a second time what Plumeria had meant in that text. A shame his phone would be too much of a hassle to get to in order to bug her about it. Guzma closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep instead.

The next morning Guzma woke up first. He was confused for a few seconds when he felt a weight on him. Did he leave his golisopod out again? After he realized it was Cyrus he calmed down and listened to the sound of his breathing. It came evenly and almost too quietly.

Then he remembered what they had meant to do that morning. It meant waking up Cyrus.

Guzma wriggled free one of his hands and gently put it on the side of Cyrus’s face. He called his name a few times. Waking him up with a shake would only spook him; Guzma preferred the method he had learned from his mother. It was the same one he had used for when Cyrus had the nightmare. He called his name again.

As Cyrus started to wake up he moved his face closer to Guzma’s hand. His heart clenched hard inside his chest; he _did not_ need this level of adorable so early. Guzma fought through the feeling to talk.

“Babe, the meadow,” Guzma reminded his voice husky with disuse. Cyrus gave an affirmative _mhm_ in reply.

They slowly got out of bed one after the other. No conversation happened and Guzma didn’t mind. Neither of them had talked much the last time they went to the meadow.

When they got there Guzma went to the usual spot where he sat. The sunlight started to cut through the sky to light up the flowers. As it did Cyrus took a seat next to him close enough so they would touch.

“This never gets old,” Guzma commented. He reached inside his jacket for the honey jar.

“I can understand why. It is beautiful,” Cyrus replied.

The sunlight grew stronger and the pokémon in the meadow started their day-long cries. Guzma uncapped the jar at the same time the ribombees buzzed into view. He saw how Cyrus watched them with a look of fascination. The curiosity was something Guzma appreciated.

“Here, they don’t mind.”

Guzma handed the jar over to Cyrus. True to his words, the ribombees didn’t care who held the jar as long as it was accessible. He amused himself at the sight of the bug pokémon gradually taking up residence on Cyrus’s arms.

Cyrus didn’t seem to notice them. He was intent on not letting the jar slip or disturb the pokémon as they ate. Guzma couldn’t hide a snicker when one of the ribombees inspected and fluttered down on Cyrus’s head.

The snicker did break Cyrus’s concentration though. He first looked up at Guzma, then at his current bug situation. The muted surprise on his face made Guzma snicker again.

“You’re so cute, babe.”

Cyrus shot him a deadpanned expression.

“I was once called fearsome I will have you know.”

“ _Me too,_ man, me too.”

His following reply and smile caused Cyrus to smile. Guzma noticed how a few of the ribombees were flying away. Even the one on Cyrus’s head took off with its band. He took back the jar and dusted stray pollen off of Cyrus.

They went silent as the ribombees returned to deposit pollen puffs into the jar. Guzma wished he could do this every day with Cyrus. He knew, though, they each had their physical limits and waking up early was one of them.

Tiredness already pulled at his eyes and made the brightening sunlight harsh to deal with. Knew he should have picked up his shades wherever they had disappeared into his room.

Guzma tuned in from his spacing out when he heard Cyrus talking.

“Is there a reason for me to not have gone to Melemele Island?”

The question made Guzma set his mouth in a line. He redirected his gaze to the ribombees.

“It’s where I used to live. My parents are still there.”

The bug pokémon flew off. Guzma capped and twisted shut the jar.

“No matter where you’d gotten put I’d always run the chance of runnin’ into one of ‘em. Melemele’s pretty small like that.”

He glanced at Cyrus who had taken on a haunted look. It jarred him a little; normally people didn’t get what he was talking about right away. Guzma narrowed one of his eyebrows.

“D’you,” he decided to change the question halfway, “what’s up?”

“I have not thought of my parents in a long time. Although they are, or rather, make themselves known.”

The answer sounded so vague Guzma wanted to ask more. He held back and stood up. Cyrus followed suit and started to rummage around in one of his pockets. He pulled out a poké ball and released the pokémon inside.

Cyrus’s weavile first made sure of where Cyrus was before examining the meadow. Guzma figured it would either be the weavile or the honchkrow. He didn’t know why exactly it was out but it didn’t matter. People had their pokémon out for any reason at all.

It didn’t matter much until the weavile went from the ground to Guzma’s neck. He had barely registered anything happening but knew the sharp sensation against his neck. The claws forced Guzma to avoid looking directly at the weavile. What was with this thing and attacking him?

Guzma heard Cyrus’s voice but didn’t understand a word. Maybe it was the threat of near death by getting bled out.

The weavile was picked off of him and Guzma relaxed. Cyrus held it inside his arms and carried a worried expression.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m, _what happened?_ ”

The weavile sneered at him with distrust. Cyrus held onto it tight and seemed to ponder the question. Guzma rubbed his neck glad the claws hadn’t pricked his skin.

“If I had to guess, it wasn’t used to your scent on my person.”

“How d’you figure that?”

“Most of my pokémon are protective to a fault. It would matter to them that, after a certain amount of time, if I suddenly smelled different, or similar to another person present.”

Guzma leaned down to stare back at the weavile. He matched its frown with a grin.

“That’s some logic. But it’s gotta learn we’re playin’ on the same team. Now anyways.”

The weavile tilted its head at his words. Cyrus stroked beneath the red plumage and it relaxed.

“With time I suppose it will. I should more than likely let my team grow more accustomed to you.”

Guzma leaned back up and switched his grin to a less intimidating smile.

“I’m down with that.”

Cyrus gave a nod in agreement then returned the weavile to its poké ball. After which he stepped closer to Guzma and pulled him down for a kiss. Guzma guessed it was for being the cause of almost hurting him.

When they parted he felt the warmth from the kiss spread throughout his chest. He wanted to linger on the feeling but opened his eyes. Cyrus had the haunted look again.

“You okay, babe?” When Guzma asked he searched Cyrus’s face.

“I can try so hard to forget.” Cyrus closed his eyes and inhaled.

“Nothing seems to work for long.”

Guzma could hear the resignation in Cyrus’s voice. It made him feel hollow. He had to say something, he couldn’t keep not saying anything to this.

“Forgetting maybe ain’t what’s workin’. We can, we can sort this out, though.”

Whatever it happened to be bothering him.

Cyrus opened his eyes to give him a bittersweet smile. He murmured they should discuss it later and turned to leave. Guzma followed with his insides feeling crummy due to the conversation. As much as he wanted to get frustrated he also wanted to have a level head about it. The emotions cancelled each other out.

When they reached Shady House Cyrus took breakfast back to his room. Guzma almost followed but hung back. He loitered around the kitchen and in the first floor of the house. Just as he figured he should go back to his room the front door opened.

Plumeria walked in with a few bags over her shoulders. She shot him a look and raised her eyebrows.

“What’s with you?”

“Plumes, you’re just the person for the job.”

Guzma started to approach her but she intercepted by holding out one of the heavier bags.

“Carry this n we’ll talk after.”

He resisted rolling his eyes, and with the bag followed Plumeria to her room. She set them all down, unpacked a few key things, and sat down in the desk chair. Guzma told her about that morning and waited for her conclusion.

“He’s not gonna open up that easy, Guz.”

“I know that!”

“A few words and kisses ain’t gonna do it either. Normally this stuff would take time, but I get the feelin’ he’ll wanna talk about it more with you. He ain’t never opened up to anyone before, I can tell ya that much.”

Guzma didn’t feel relieved. He had crossed his arms and found himself coming back to the issue. Plumeria caught his attention with a wave of the hand.

“Leave him alone to sort himself out right now. And also.”

She closed her eyes as if to brace herself. It confused Guzma long enough to take his mind off of things.

“Molayne’s comin’ over tomorrow.”

“ _Tomorrow?_ ”

Plumeria opened her eyes and gave a single nod.

“I didn’t know this stuff was goin’ on so I thought it’d be okay.”

“ _Plumes-_ “

“I also thought we’d have a double date the same night.”

Guzma reeled his reactionary emotions back. He had started moving his arms to make hand gestures instead of yelling.

“It’s bad timin’ I know.”

“So you actually just _hopin’_ me an him get it together _before tomorrow?_ ”

“Guzma, ya can do anything. I also wasn’t lyin’ at all with what I said. You got this, so just calm down about it and focus on him.”

Guzma sighed and hung his shoulders.

“Ya sayin’ I got this, and that it takes time, and that I should do this an’ that. Can’t this get any easier?”

“Emotions are complicated like that. Actually, people are weird like that. You’ll get used to it.”

He shrugged and turned around to leave. Plumeria let him go without another word.

Cyrus stayed underneath the bedcover for an extended amount of time. Not that he wanted to; he knew he shouldn’t be there. He wanted to be with Guzma, but his body didn’t move. It didn’t move for anything.

His stomach had gotten used to the regular mealtimes. When it growled Cyrus didn’t move to leave. He felt his body readjust on the bed to curl up a bit more. Possibly to try and muffle the hunger pangs.

All Guzma had done was bring up the idea of parents. People Cyrus had not thought about even during his time in the Distortion World. It amazed him how hard he had tried to erase them from his mind. And for how long he actually had managed to almost do it.

Then all it took was one reminder. They still resonated that strongly within him. If anything, this misery did help to put a name to the voice which scolded him for being selfish. _Like right now, lying there like a piece of driftwood, what was he doing, lying there? Selfish boy. This wasn’t meant to be about you! But it has to be doesn’t it, boy?_

He strained to hear past his thoughts for the sound of rain and thunder. The sound was there, but his mind remained too clouded with unwanted memories. They had started to chime in with the voice. Cyrus pushed past them and struggled for a length of time he didn’t bother to determine.

Eventually, he grew frustrated with himself. He had spent how many days not feeling a thing and then this? After confessing to Guzma, everything felt like a dream, like emotions didn’t matter because? Because he had felt content. He had felt happy. And being happy didn’t involve what he regularly felt.

Cyrus wrapped the bedcover tighter around himself. He had grown complacent in his blissful dream and forgotten how his emotions really were. Heavy discontent, emotional distance, and a scathing whip to the back of his thoughts. Change didn’t come to people so easy. _Why did he think he was different? Alola, Sinnoh, nowhere is a fairytale. It doesn’t exist. He didn’t deserve it, didn’t deserve it. Not at all, not at all._

He turned his face up towards the window. The rain battered against it aided by the wind gusts. It was a visual distraction he could use and easier than trying to use his tablet. His eyes closed at some point, and he let himself drift among his thoughts and memories.

Cyrus jolted awake at a harsh sound. He listened, confused, when he heard the sound of footsteps from elsewhere. Something out of sight clanked, and someone uttered a harsh whisper. Cyrus remained where he was and waited though he already suspected who it would be.

A sudden weight on the bed caused him to have to move. Cyrus was forced upright to avoid any sort of collision.

“Did I, _I’m sorry,_ Cy, I just,” stumbled Guzma as he backed off the bed.

Cyrus mustered up whatever little cohesion he had left and turned around to face him. Guzma stood by the nightstand which had a plate of food and a cup placed on it. Cyrus recognized the cup as being the same one from earlier; internally he winced as guilt bit him.

“Plumeria said I should at least get you to try an eat dinner. Will you?”

He dared himself to look up at Guzma’s face. It held a genuine expression of concern. _Oh, he didn't deserve this._

Steeling himself Cyrus formed a vague smile on his face.

“I could never say no to a face like your’s, could I?”

Guzma’s concern shifted to surprise. A faint redness even rose up onto his cheeks. It eased his guilt to see the concern vanish.

“Could I talk while you eat?” Guzma asked while he gave him the plate. Cyrus nodded and started to eat automatically. He didn’t taste anything which was how things went at times.

Guzma pulled up one of the stray chairs to the bedside. Cyrus made guesses at what would be discussed. He knew more than likely the past and parents. Guzma wouldn’t be letting it alone now that he knew about it. He was just the sort of dogged personality type.

Cyrus felt he didn’t have a choice in stopping him from choosing either.

“So, yeah, my parents.” Guzma ran a hand through his hair as he tried to find words. “My mom worked a lot. Either couldn’t be home or not until late. I remember her always bein’ tired. She still, she still was nice though. Like a mom should be y’know?”

The back of Cyrus’s mind snapped that he didn’t; it loathed the easy and delicate way Guzma could say the word “mom.” He remained quiet and continued to eat with one ear towards Guzma’s voice.

“My _dad_ stayed home more. Sometimes he left for whatever it is you do in golf. He always wanted _me_ to take it up. Kept sayin’ and insistin’ that my bug hunting wasn’t the _“right thing.”_ The right way to _“spend my time.”_

“He’d get mad about it. When I couldn’t do things right or as well as he did ‘em.”

Cyrus noted the way Guzma’s fingers flexed where they were resting on his lap.

“I’d get mad about it, too. One day I got so mad I took off. Got as far away from Melemele as I could, and ended up here on Ula’Ula. I still, recently,” Guzma’s voice fell away all of a sudden.

It made Cyrus look over and notice how intent his gaze had become. Guzma’s face appeared to be in some disbelief. Cyrus felt alarmed and wondered if there was something he missed. Should he have spoken up?

"D’you _get all this?_ ”/p>

“All of what?”

Guzma dragged the chair closer to the bed. Cyrus twitched but kept himself from retreating back against the windowsill.

“Like, _this_ , normally whenever I say this people get kinda. Up in arms. Defensive? Sometimes real sad sympathetic. You just. _Do you know?_ ”

Cyrus set down the fork he had been using. It clicked for what he had to explain next. The usual custom to this sort of talk.

He reached over and set the plate back onto the nightstand and took the cup. As he partially expected it was hot chocolate slightly chilled from neglect.

Cyrus took a long sip for he feared when he started it wouldn’t stop.

“My parents recognized my prowess with machinery at a young age. They pushed me to spend more time on it than anything else, and to study whichever subjects would further my comprehension with machines. They discouraged me from pokémon which caused a sort of alienation among my peers. At the time I didn’t mind but I should have. I should have.

“They forbade me from acting on my own. I have a feeling, now, my parents wanted to craft a prodigy. They already felt they had one, and anything that would cause a defect was to be,” Cyrus felt his nerve falter and he spat out the word, “taken.”

A fuzzy memory threatened to burst through from the depths. Cyrus pushed it back, gritted his teeth, and took a deep breath. He avoided looking at Guzma and stared down at the bedcover.

“I do not know exactly, but, somewhat.”

Guzma moved at the edge of his vision. Cyrus couldn’t help that his eyes darted over to look. He had covered part of his face with a hand. It alarmed him how Guzma’s shoulders twitched ever so slightly. Cyrus felt his spine stiffen and quickly set the cup aside on the nightstand.

“ _I didn’t think._ ”

The tightness in Guzma’s voice made him move closer to the edge of the bed.

“ _I’m so glad you’re here._ ”

The last statement confused him. On one hand, he had never been told something like that. On another, he wondered as to why Guzma had said it at all. Cyrus ran the conversation through his mind again. His prior misery had been shelved at the sight of Guzma’s distress.

Their shared distress. Cyrus slowly blinked as the conclusion drew itself up. They each had someone to understand the voices, the emotions, the deadness that came with certain things, the inferiority, the indecision, the reminders of worse times, and the desire to hold onto that which brought the good. When it sunk in he felt his face flush with heat.

Cyrus snapped back into place when he saw Guzma move his hand down from his eyes. He tried to obscure the sight of his tears with the back of his wrist. It sent a chill throughout Cyrus’s spine. He extended both of his arms out and Guzma moved without hesitation to embrace him. Faraway, in the back of his mind, he recognized the basic gesture of desperation.

Guzma moved partially onto the bed and held him tight. Cyrus buried his face in the crook of Guzma’s neck. He felt his own seldom few tears finding their way out. Cyrus closed his eyes and felt through their contact how Guzma struggled to regain composure. He felt it through the heat in Guzma’s skin, the shudders in his chest, and the attempts to clear his throat.

Cyrus was afraid his own voice wouldn’t come out, but he tried to speak.

“Please don’t let me go.”

Perhaps he spoke for them both. Cyrus heard Guzma give a halfhearted laugh.

“I couldn’t, even if I tried. I’m so.” Guzma leaned back to place a kiss on the side of Cyrus’s head. “So glad you’re here. You made it through everything to be here. _With me._ ”

“With you,” Cyrus replied.

He breathed in, first to calm himself, second for Guzma’s scent; bugs, rain, sweat, the outside, and paint. It caused the crack of a smile on his face.

“Babe,” Guzma said to get his attention.

They looked each other in the face. Cyrus removed his hands from around Guzma to brush them against the sides of his face partially into his hair. He could tell in the lowlight how the edges of his eyes were red. Cyrus suspected his own would be as well.

They kissed deeply for a while, although Cyrus felt fatigue begin to set in. One time he pulled away Guzma seemed to notice.

“Feeling tired?”

Cyrus heaved a sigh in disappointment at his own limits. Then he turned the corner of his mouth up into a slight smirk.

“You _are_ the best bed and sleep aid I could ever end up with.”

“ _Cyrus,_ ” Guzma dragged out his name as he shook his head. “Okay, if not just for that, we’re goin’ to sleep.”

“We?”

Guzma tilted his head and shot him a raised eyebrow. Cyrus avoided his direct gaze and withheld a laugh in response. He moved himself back towards the window to allow Guzma enough room to get onto the bed.

Eventually they were situated with Cyrus turned towards the window and Guzma at his back. He had wrapped both his arms around Cyrus and curled up his legs to try and accommodate for his size. Cyrus didn’t mind the extra warmth it was a comfort after the entire day.

Guzma woke up to the sensation of stiffness in his arms. He realized the reason why at the sight of blue hair in front of him. The entire night he had been holding onto Cyrus who was currently asleep. Guzma carefully withdrew his arms and attempted to not react to how the stiffness extended up to one of his shoulders.

When he had managed to extricate himself Guzma sat up. The rain at the window indicated that it had to be getting close to late morning. He flexed his fingers and arms thinking of what to do. Last night’s talk had been so heavy and dramatic. Even with sleep he still felt drained.

He decided to start with breakfast in bed. Guzma slid out, took the plate and mug from last night, and snuck out to the kitchen. Once there, he set about examining the fridge and pantry. Their food, bought in bulk, was starting to run out he noticed. No doubt Plumeria would notice, too. He picked out a few things and started up the stove.

Plumeria came into the kitchen halfway through his cooking. They greeted each other in the usual head nod way. Plumeria stood next to him at the counter with her own breakfast preparations. She glanced at him once, then took a double-take.

“Hey, Guz, everything go okay last night?”

“Yeah? We, uh, talked it out. S’cool. I gotta tell him about Molayne, though.”

Guzma turned his head when Plumeria started to study him. She searched in one of her pockets and drew out a compact mirror. He wondered why, when she already had makeup on, until she held it up to the side of his neck.

“Ya notice that?”

He squinted into the mirror and craned his neck to see. There were three faint red marks on the side of his shoulder exposed due to his tank top.

“No, what _is_ that? Did I get bit yesterday? No, no way, I woulda.”

Guzma scrunched up his face to try and remember. Nothing came to mind. Plumeria put away her compact and seemed to be bracing herself to say something. Guzma relaxed his face as he waited for a conclusion.

“They’re hickeys,” she said straight-faced.

“ _What?_ ”

He went to further his reaction but decided to turn the stovetop off first. Guzma turned around to fully face Plumeria with his hands up in the air.

“ _You mean-_ “

“-Yeah, lovebites, that sorta thing.”

“ _I think_ I would remember if that happened.”

Plumeria played it cool, but he knew she had to be laughing about this. Why did he always get stuck with these kinds of people? Why did he happen to be in love with one?

“Well, you’re a pretty dead sleeper when you’re tired. An’ I think you tired yourself out yesterday with all your worryin’. It’s not bad.”

“I know it ain’t bad, Plumes, _that’s not the point._ ”

“Then what is?”

Guzma shut his mouth and lowered his hands to think.

“Maybe that I wasn’t awake?”

Plumeria raised an eyebrow. He knew she would have laughed if she could.

“Tell him that then.” She turned towards her stuff on the counter and picked it up. “I’ll take my food to the table.”

“Plumes it’s not gonna-“

“-I know it ain’t gonna but you two have fun wit’ that.”

She raised her hand as she left the kitchen. Guzma ran fingers through his hair and breathed a sigh. He very lightly touched where the hickeys were and felt his stomach twist. It wasn’t a bad feeling, but he couldn’t figure it out. He took his fingers away and decided to focus on finishing breakfast.

Guzma delicately balanced the two plates and glasses on his way back upstairs. Waiting for him at the top was Plumeria’s salazzle. He stared at it for a second in confusion then went to walk by it. It followed and proceeded to open the door for him. Guzma resisted rolling his eyes.

“Thanks.”

The salazzle hissed and sauntered back downstairs. Guzma shook his head to clear it and entered Cyrus’s room. He had just gotten up it looked like by how he was still halfway in the bedcover. How could anyone look so perfect with bedhead?

Cyrus saw him and decided to move the rest of the cover out of the way. He reached the edge of the bed and swung his legs over. Cyrus paused to straighten out his hair much as he could. 

Guzma felt like he was forgetting something.

“Good morning.”

He had forgotten to use his words.

“Mornin’,” he remembered to reply.

Guzma stumbled a bit at also remembering he was holding two plates and balancing drinks. With an awkward movement he moved to set them aside on the nightstand.

Cyrus looked at him with a small amused smile.

“Do you have difficulty waking up in the morning? Quite unusual for a bug specialist.”

Guzma couldn’t help but laugh at the remark.

“If I wake up every morning next to someone like you it’s gonna take me an’ extra thirty minutes.”

“Why?”

“Ya too good lookin’, babe.”

Cyrus turned his head away and began to blush. At least, he suspected he would be after that.

“ _Oh,_ you don’t believe me?”

“I believe you but I’m…not so used to compliments.” Cyrus moved his head back around and shot him an unsteady smile.

“Babe, I’d need to be able to talk in paragraphs to describe you.”

His smile found its ground and widened.

“And I would need to fill the sea with words to discuss you in full.”

 _Dear Tapu, what had he done to get this?_ Guzma felt his face break out into a grin as he shook his head. The action reminded him of the foreign sensation on his shoulder. It broke through his grin and turned it down.

Cyrus’s smile dwindled.

“Is something the matter?”

“Uh, maybe.”

Guzma hadn’t thought of how to approach the topic. He went and sat beside Cyrus, first of all. Guess he could mimic what happened with Plumeria for a start.

“D’you see these?”

As he asked, he leaned down to let Cyrus see the red marks. Cyrus leaned up and studied them a few seconds with focused precision. When he ran a finger over them Guzma twitched in a kneejerk response. Cyrus retracted his finger in a quiet apology.

“I’m afraid I do not know what they are. Certainly not a mark left by a pokémon that I know of.”

Guzma grit his teeth. He forced himself to get out with it before he locked up.

“They’re hickeys, Cyrus.”

Cyrus seemed to take a moment to process the word. His composure didn’t break beyond a vacant expression. Not that Guzma expected it to.

“Lovebites, yes, I know of them.”

Guzma watched him slowly become confused.

“I don’t remember exactly giving them,” an awkward pause, “these.”

It was a strange comfort to see him confused and made the conversation feel a little easier.

“No one else coulda, Cy.”

Cyrus began to look deep in thought. So deep he spaced out, Guzma guessed. All of a sudden his head rose up.

“I have…a vague recollection of waking up sometime in the night. But I did not move from the bed.”

Guzma wrapped an arm around Cyrus’s shoulders. It made him jump a little.

“I’m not _mad,_ Cy.”

He heard Cyrus huff a small sigh. Guzma didn’t want to read into it. Neither of them looked at each other for a moment. Then Guzma turned his head back around.

“I just, sorta, wished I coulda been awake for that.”

It made Cyrus look back at him. A small bit of curiosity seemed to be there.

“You would have?”

Guzma felt a burning sensation start to take up his face. He decided to get through it in order to say what was on his mind. Things had to be like that, _use your words, Guz._

“I mean, I dunno if I like that sorta thing, until it happens, y’know?”

“I did it half-asleep; surely I couldn’t be trusted to do it again.”

“Cyrus.” Guzma looked at him head-on. “I trust you with a lot of things. Even this and, besides, it’s nothin’ bad.”

Cyrus didn’t look sure and averted his gaze. Guzma withdrew his arm and went to cup the side of Cyrus’s face. He bent down closer before he spoke more.

“I don’t mind if it’s you, babe.”

Guzma stroked Cyrus’s cheek with his thumb. Cyrus touched the hand with his own as he thought it over. Then he stretched up and Guzma met him halfway for a kiss. He kept his eyes closed even as Cyrus’s lips trailed off from his mouth.

They travelled down the side of his face towards his neck. Excitement branched out starting from his stomach and out to his face. Guzma knew he had felt similar from anger, and from embarrassment, but nothing like this. Its intensity was new.

Guzma felt Cyrus’s lips come to a stop at the side of his neck. The same side where the other marks were, he noticed. There were a few seconds of pain. The sensation sent electricity throughout his skin which was strange, maybe the strangest thing about it.

He felt Cyrus draw back and carefully plant a few more kisses around the sensitive area. Guzma felt tension that was keeping him cohesive leave him. He struggled to remain upright a few seconds as the tension left. When he could look at Cyrus he seemed to be concerned.

“Are you alright?”

“ _Yeah,_ ” Guzma breathed, oh breathing felt good, “ _yeah,_ everything’s good. I’m good. That was. Good.”

He felt warm, and excited, and all kinds of things. Not that he could particularly care to think right about it. He wanted it to stay long as it could and enjoy it.

Guzma watched as Cyrus felt the side of his face.

“Your skin is a furnace.”

“Yeah, that was, _pretty hot._ ”

Cyrus blinked at him in concern. In his high, Guzma didn’t have the capacity to mind and instead went to nuzzle him on the neck. The reaction threw Cyrus for a small loop, and he had to adjust to the situation. He ran a few fingers through Guzma’s hair which redirected his attention.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“ _Hm, hm,_ ya boy’s peachy.”

Guzma gave him a kiss on the cheek which he accepted. He noticed Cyrus had a contemplative look on his face again. Seeing it sobered him up a little.

“What up?”

“Do you think you could also-?”

He tilted his head at the suggestion. The thinking process made Guzma sober up even more.

“I dunno. Seems like delicate work an’ I’m not the best at that sort of stuff. Heh, if I did it, I’d probably just end up _biting_ you.”

“Then bite me.”

Cyrus’s reply was delivered without any hesitation. It fully brought Guzma back down to the present.

“Wait, what?”

“You heard me.”

“ _I did_ but.” Guzma drew back a bit. “You can’t be serious.”

Cyrus reached up and ran fingers through his hair again. The electrical feeling returned but Guzma held it down.

“It is only fair and equal that you leave a mark on me.”

“But a _bite?_ ”

“ _Guzma._ ” Cyrus brought their faces closer together. “I want to trust you back. Bite me.”

The way his eyes held such determination convinced him. He started with a kiss which gave Cyrus time to stretch the collar of his hoodie. Guzma tried not to overthink the entire thing.

His lips travelled down and across Cyrus’s neckline to the shoulder. He hesitated a second, then opened his mouth and bit down. Not too hard, but it was enough to cause Cyrus to jerk in reaction.

Guzma couldn’t keep doing it for too long. It felt weird to feel Cyrus’s skin between his teeth and so close to his tongue. The smallest motion carried through to his skull which didn’t feel right. When Guzma moved back he instantly went to look at Cyrus.

To his surprise, Cyrus had a neutral expression.

“That was less of a thrill than I expected.”

“I’m sorry babe did I-“

“-Not you, Guzma. You did what I asked.”

Cyrus settled the hoodie back in place. He leaned over to give him a quick kiss.

“Just between us, right?”

“Yes,” Guzma whispered it back. He felt perplexed about the whole thing. How they got from point A to point B and all that.

Guzma decided to concentrate on breakfast. They had taken too long to eat it so it had to be reheated in the kitchen downstairs. After eating they broke to get more ready for the day ahead which meant a new change of clothes.

Cyrus stood alone in his bedroom bare chested. He had been in the middle of sorting through his small collection of clean and dirty clothes. Laying them in neat folded piles he had stopped to consider the bite mark on his shoulder.

Guzma had not bit down hard. Cyrus traced his fingers over the vague crescent outlines which were red. The lovebites he had left were darker and would last longer than a few days; this mark would barely last two. Had he pressured Guzma too hard? The bite experience seemed to have done nothing for either of them unlike the lovebite one.

Cyrus traced the outline again and thought of Guzma’s teeth. The action hadn’t been what excited him. He thought through the memory trying to parse through the emotions. Maybe it was what the mark meant; the claiming and the secrecy of it.

Satisfied, he dropped his hand to pick up the last piece of clothing he had stopped on. It happened to be a sweater hidden at the bottom of the bag. Cyrus liked the feel of it, its tall collar, and the dark gray color. He held the sweater out in front of him and noticed it would hug his frame slightly.

It served to remind him of the other sweater. The black one with its gracidea flowers. He had worn it solely because of the nostalgic mythos behind it. And yet, it had also managed to grab Guzma’s attention.

“Maybe just a little more,” Cyrus said to himself.

He put on the sweater and felt its snug embrace. Changing into a better pair of pants Cyrus then left the bedroom. He thought of going across to Guzma’s room but heard his, _or would it be lover’s_ voice from downstairs. Cyrus descended the steps without a sound and began to overhear the conversation.

“These were _express_ shipped?”

“Yep, that’s what the box says, Guz.”

Guzma and Plumeria were near the front door which was left open.

“Figures Nanu’s got someone on express delivery.” Guzma shook his head. “ _Kahunas._ ”

He stopped on the last stair step to watch Guzma carry in three cardboard boxes. The boxes were stacked on top of each other and blocked their gazes until set down.

They were surprised to see each other. Guzma because Cyrus had been so quiet; Cyrus because Guzma was wearing a pop collared button up underneath his jacket. It had thin lined design mostly in white. Cyrus could not claim to know fashion, but the clash between dark and bright hurt to look at.

“Hey babe, when’d you get there?”

“What are you wearing that for?”

Plumeria seemed to snicker off to the side, but he could have imagined it.

“Oh, uh, the jacket’s for the rain. Y’see, Plumeria’s invited her boyfriend over for dinner. Sorry I couldn’t tell ya earlier.”

So they were to eat together. It would be his first semi-formal event in a long time. Cyrus guessed that wasn’t the entire reason for the shirt; he could tell the extended collar covered up most of _that_ area.

Guzma turned his attention towards the boxes.

“These’re from Nanu. Dunno what’s in ‘em, but they’re for you.”

“You two should sort that out now,” said Plumeria.

She politely hustled Guzma into picking up the boxes again and to head up the stairs. Before Cyrus could follow she tapped him on the shoulder.

“Molayne’s comin’ over early for lunch, too. Thought I should give you a heads up. Occupy him for, like, thirty minutes, kay, tough guy?”

Cyrus gave her a nod in reply. She flash a smile and walked off into the depths of Shady House. He turned and continued towards his room where Guzma had been dealing with the doorknob.

Once all the boxes were placed down Cyrus went to suggest a box cutter when Guzma simply opened the first one. He had never seen anyone capable of opening one barehanded. It was a sight to behold.

“What’s all this? Poké beans, _really,_ Nanu?”

Guzma held up a bag with a strange symbol on it. Cyrus stepped closer to examine. The symbol seemed to be the face of a pokémon. He reached into the proffered bag and withdrew what looked like a bean. It had a pattern on it of some kind.

“What are these?”

“They’re poké beans. Pokémon really like to eat them, although I haven’t been able to get any since I got banned from all the shops that sell ‘em.”

Cyrus had two options, but he went with the more interesting one.

“Why were you banned?”

Guzma grinned at him.

“Wanna hear some of ya boy’s exploits, huh? Well there’s not much to tell. It was back when I first got Team Skull together. I’d go into a shop with a couple of my homies, and we’d just take stuff. I got some poké beans once and my golisopod really liked ‘em.

“After a while, though, they started ampin’ up security, and I set my sights on, ah, better things.”

Guzma then suddenly rifled through the collected bags. He opened a few and frowned.

“Of _course_ he didn’t get you any rainbow beans. Those are supposed to be the best tastin’. Stingy old man.”

Cyrus appreciated the thought in silence, and counted the number of bags.

“Would you take some off my hands? Surely I couldn’t use all of these.”

Guzma raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“You sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” he replied with a smile.

Guzma grabbed a few and stashed them away in his jacket pockets. Cyrus took out a poké ball and released his crobat.

“My pickiest eater,” he stated as he let it eat a poké bean.

The crobat chittered in delight and nudged his open hand in affection. Cyrus gave it a few head rubs and allowed it to stay out.

Guzma shrugged and moved the poké bean box aside. He opened the next one in the same manner as the last.

“Clothes.”

Cyrus stepped closer as Guzma moved aside to let him assess a few of them. They did appear to be his size although the patterns could be better. There didn’t seem to be any uniformity either as to which kinds they were. At this rate, he would need to use a closet or chest of drawers.

“Not happy with that?” Asked Guzma after a while.

“I would prefer to find my own clothes at some point.”

The way Guzma smiled caught his attention.

“I could take you to Malie City where you could find some.”

Cyrus conjured up an image of Ula’Ula Island he had seen once. It was back when he had first gotten his tablet.

“That is…the port city on the other side of the island, yes?”

“Yeah, but I can get us there, no sweat.”

He admired the self-assurance Guzma spoke with. Cyrus smiled at him again.

“Then you will have to take me sometime soon.”

“It’ll be our first real date,” Guzma said excitedly.

The box of clothes was set aside and Guzma squat down to open the last one. He stayed down to puzzle over its various contents. Cyrus joined him in picking out certain items.

A few of them were personal hygienic items most in travel sizes. There was a guidebook on Alola which Guzma went to comment poorly on except that it had been updated with the inclusion of Alola’s Pokémon League. Cyrus noticed a letter hidden inside but decided to open it later. Nanu had also sent him a small package of ultra balls which he placed off to the side.

One of the last items was a case kept closed with a zipper. When he unzipped it there were a variety of smaller grooming items inside.

“A personal pokémon grooming kit. Oh, what’s he want a _protégé?_ ”

Cyrus had been admiring a brush when Guzma spoke.

“Of what?”

“Nanu’s a real stickler for takin’ care of his meowths. I had to hear about it from one of my homies he kinda took in. I get it, I love my team, but when I think about those meowths he’s got.”

Guzma ended with a grimace and a headshake. Cyrus felt he agreed on the case of the meowths.

He called over his crobat which had been watching nearby and it settled out on the floor in front of him. It balanced carefully using its bottom pair of wings to cushion itself.

Holding up the brush Cyrus allowed it to be inspected. Then he switched over to a terrycloth rag and let it also be inspected. Guzma settled into a squat to watch him.

Cyrus rubbed the cloth over his crobat which seemed to enjoy the interaction. Despite the manner of which it was obtained, he thought this would make it easier to keep his pokémon’s skin clean.

“Oh, right.” The action caused him to remember what they discussed yesterday.

“Here,” Cyrus said holding out the cloth.

Guzma looked from him, to the crobat, and took the cloth. Cyrus moved to allow him to get closer to it. With a delicate touch Guzma managed to dust off its multiple sets of wings. As Cyrus expected his crobat enjoyed the attention and chittered happily. Guzma stopped to give it a few head rubs as he had seen him do.

“Oh, wait, better idea,” Guzma spoke all of a sudden.

The rag was exchanged back to allow him to fish a poké ball out of his pants pocket. Guzma tossed it and, on instinct, Cyrus’s crobat took flight and flapped in place.

An unrecognizable bug pokémon emerged in the space beside Guzma. It hovered in midair with the aid of a pair of rapidly buzzing wings. What amazed him was the fact it almost rivaled crobat in size.

Guzma patted his arm and the pokémon attempted to set itself down on all four legs. Cyrus took in the sight of its large mandibles which seemed to weigh it down enough to where Guzma strained a little. Actually, even if the pokémon did not weigh a lot, its sheer height made the interaction difficult.

“This here’s my vikavolt.”

Guzma paused to get a poké bean with his free hand.

“Just hold out the bean and it’ll move its mandibles.”

Cyrus accepted the poké bean and slowly extended his hand. As Guzma said, the vikavolt recognized the action and opened its mandibles. At being this close Cyrus could tell the exoskeleton looked hard enough to resemble steel. He put the thought of the mandibles closing out of his mind and kept reaching forwards.

The vikavolt opened its smaller jaws and ate the bean. When Cyrus moved back it buzzed and lifted itself up slightly. He read it as a positive reaction.

Guzma used his free hand to quietly guide one of Cyrus’s into rubbing the top of its head. The vikavolt buzzed again. Part of him felt perturbed but he locked it down.

“Yeah, they’ll get used to you in no time,” Guzma assured him with a grin.

“I hope so.”

The door to the room opened and he jerked his hand back. Cyrus noticed his crobat swerve around to where it could view the door as well. They all stared towards the doorway where Plumeria stood with her arms crossed.

“Okay, boys, Molayne’s here. C’mon.”

She sidestepped to allow a man to walk into view. He had glasses, partially styled blonde hair, and wore semi-formal clothes. Molayne bowed his head a little before speaking.

“Sorry for the intrusion, Guzma-“

“-I told them you were invited, Molayne, don’t be like that-“

“-It still counts, right?”

Guzma returned his vikavolt to its poké ball and stood up out of his squat to full height. Cyrus decided to do the same if to keep his knees from aching later.

“Well, if Plumes thinks it’s fine, then it is. Nice to see ya again, anyway, Molayne.” Guzma appeared to remember something during the pleasantries. “Uh, right. Cy, this is Molayne, former trial captain now Elite Four member. A steel type user.”

The addressed shook his head in modesty.

“I don’t deserve half the titles, but it is nice to meet you, Cyrus.”

“Likewise,” he replied.

Plumeria uncrossed her arms to take one of Molayne’s hands.

“We’re gonna play some games before lunch. You two should join us.”

The suggestion appeared to surprise Guzma.

“You’re lettin’ me back near a _game console?_ ”

Plumeria shot him a glare. Cyrus noticed how Molayne didn’t appear fazed by the banter.

“ _You knew_ not to break it. But I expect this time ya got a bit more grease on your brakes.”

He guessed she would have glanced at him if not for tact. Plumeria pulled Molayne out of sight and down the hall. Cyrus caught Guzma’s eye and Guzma spoke.

“How long’s it been since ya played a video game?”

“Too long I expect.”

Any mention of electronics always managed to remind him of the long span of time he had missed. Guzma grinned and part of him felt uneasy. Or maybe the emotion was more along the lines of unsteady.

“Mon Kart 8 doesn’t sound too bad, right? C’mon let’s go.”

Cyrus felt the unsteadiness grow at the mention of the name. As he returned his crobat to its poké ball, he distinctly remembered playing Mon Kart as a child. Only it had been the first iteration.

The game room turned out to be next door. To his surprise, the overhead light was brighter than anywhere else he had been in Shady House. Aside from that, when they entered, the consoles being set up caught his attention. They appeared to be more or less based on the touch screen technology he had seen earlier.

“ _Babe._ ”

The breathless way Guzma spoke jerked Cyrus out of his mechanical thought process.

“Your _sweater._ ”

He peered down and noticed what Guzma meant. Woven into the fabric was another one which caused the sweater to glitter under the light. No one had noticed it earlier due to the poor lighting situation. The glitteriness went well with the dark gray of his sweater.

It gave him the smallest sense of self-satisfaction.

“ _Hey, boys,_ we’re set up,” interjected Plumeria.

“I warn you, I have been giving her a few pointers concerning video games,” added Molayne who sat on a stool to her right.

“Don’t scare ‘em ya metal slug.”

Cyrus didn’t think there would be anything to fear in Molayne’s smile, but he could be wrong. Time desired to prove him wrong on many points. He accepted the controller he would be playing with and sat on a stool. Guzma was to his left and Plumeria to his right.

She gave him an overview on game controls and let him pick and choose his kart and character. Cyrus took his time, although he made certain to consider what everyone else had picked.

Plumeria went with a roserade based character; medium weight class. Molayne an arbok; a sort of heavy class. And Guzma, as he expected, went with a scizor; heavyweight but intimidating. If this were to be his first experience then, perhaps, it would be best-

“-With this,” Cyrus mumbled choosing the unfamiliar pokémon called a yamask. It was a lightweight, and when he chose the right vehicle it had incredible speed.

“Ya gonna do great babe!” Guzma said with a smile. It broke Cyrus out of the methodical thought process. He reminded himself this was a game and to relax.

After two races, however, it was clear the tension would remain. Not just within him, but the entire room reverberated with it. No one had expected Cyrus to pick up the mechanics of the game, or the strategy to its items, quickly as he had.

The player who turned out to give him the most trouble was Molayne. He had determined, from the start, the blond was the most experienced out of them all. With every race it seemed what kept Cyrus from beating him was unfamiliarity with the tracks.

In the back of his mind, he began to realize why he might have been kept from video games. The gameplay was fantastic to deconstruct and to understand even outside of the hardware and software.

A particularly loud exclamation from Guzma knocked Cyrus out of his train of thought. He froze and looked over to watch Guzma stand up. Part of him ran to the worst scenario while the rest of him focused on remaining frozen.

“ _Molayne,_ we’re gonna settle this!”

Guzma pointed over his head to the accused.

“ _Jus’ you an’ me!_ ”

Molayne appeared moderately surprised. Seemed he was challenged to this sort of thing often. Cyrus relaxed his shoulders, but noticed he had gotten Plumeria’s attention.

“Are you sure, Guzma?”

“ _Ab_ solutely, let’s _go!_ ”

And so the game’s circumstances were changed where Guzma and Molayne could settle the dispute in a series of races. Cyrus and Plumeria moved their stools back towards the door.

They watched the futility of Guzma’s challenge unroll in silence. Then, Plumeria turned towards him a little.

“So, you been doin’ good with Guzma?”

Cyrus avoided her eyes a second to consider how to respond.

“I do believe so.”

Saying it made him feel a soft glow on the inside of his chest. Plumeria’s smile, which appeared briefly, looked more genuine than any time before.

“I’m real glad for what you’ve been doin’ for him. Ya know, he _totally_ made this happen ‘cause he doesn’t wanna fight you?"

“What?”

Cyrus glanced to where Guzma and Molayne were still racing. Guzma was shouting at odd intervals in his native language. Molayne dealt with the onslaught coolly.

“Guz likes to fight, but I’d give even this a bit of doubt.”

She paused as a particularly bad moment happened.

“This is good after all that’s happened. Which I bet he hasn’t said anythin’ about.”

Cyrus turned his head to listen more intently. Part of him felt guilty, but he craved the chance to know more about Guzma.

“Ya know anything about the Aether Foundation?”

“They are a group of pokémon conservationists,” Cyrus recalled from browsing online.

“Yeah, but their president was real crooked. Lusamine wanted to do some research, or whatever, on these Ultra Wormhole things, and the only reason we got pulled into it is ‘cause of Guzma. She got him to like her.”

Plumeria cast a worried glance in Guzma’s direction. Cyrus looked as well and his eyes caught on the red tape which created an X on the back of his jacket. Never once had he thought to question it.

The effect was ruined when Guzma let out a yell as he was thrown off the road.

“So, deal was we take all the bad press, and no one questions what Aether’s doin’ in secret cause _they’re_ the good guys. Then, when our little Champ came along, everything wit them got turned belly-up, and ultimately Team Skull got disbanded. Guzma realized some things when all that went down.

“Actually, before you got here, some more things went down at Aether. Somethin’ about weirdos from other places tryin’ to take over Alola. Lusamine got in trouble and Guz went after her.”

Plumeria paused to shake her head.

“Didn’t go like he wanted as I figured it wouldn’t. In fact, if you hadn’t showed up, he might still be thinking about that. I bet he realized that, big of a bonehead as he is.”

Cyrus digested the information in his usual silence. At first, it was strange to comprehend, then he thought of what Guzma had shared with him; it would make sense for someone with nefarious intent to realize manipulation could be done to him.

He wondered for a second if he would have the displeasure of meeting this Lusamine.

Cyrus switched to ponder if his arrival had been too well timed. Had Giratina known? Was it all a complete coincidence, or was he thinking too much on it? It made his self-assurance fold a bit.

“What do you think of us?” Cyrus asked.

Plumeria tilted her head back as she thought. She leaned forward when she responded.

“What do you call him?”

Cyrus slowly blinked.

“Like, are you boyfriends? Not choosing any labels? Just partners?”

He considered the question.

“I would prefer the term lover or close companion. “Boyfriend” does not seem to be…good enough if that makes sense.”

Plumeria gave a reaction close to a snicker but somehow not.

“Yeah, you two were just made for each other. Just two dudes tryin’ to figure theyselves, and each other out.”

Their conversation fell to a lull as they watched the match between Guzma and Molayne end. As expected, Guzma had not managed to win a single race despite valiant effort.

Cyrus watched as Guzma raised one of his hands in a threatening gesture. It stopped mid-air and hovered at the side of his head. The fingers curled then uncurled. Guzma lowered it and let out a loud sigh.

“ _Next time, Molayne,_ ” he said enunciating harshly.

“I await the challenge,” Molayne replied calmly.

Plumeria took it as a cue to rise up off the stool.

“Break for lunch, boys.”

There was a general muttering in agreement as the game was put away. Cyrus hung back near the door to watch everything be turned off. The odd but minuet displacement chilled his insides. Something about it brought vague memories to the brink of being remembered.

It stayed as they all left the game room to head downstairs. Cyrus could feel a nagging voice start up at the back of his mind as well. When Guzma took his hand the action jogged him out of hearing it.

“Babe, you gotta start sharin’ your secrets on how to win.”

Cyrus curved his lips in a small smile.

“It isn’t that complex, but I can try.”

“How’d you get so good anyway?”

They were at the bottom of the stairs and coming around the bend towards the kitchen. What Guzma said must have caught Molayne’s attention because the blond turned around.

“I wouldn’t mind hearing that. I don’t mean to brag, but, for someone who hasn’t played video games all that much you picked it up easily. Only my cousin could give me such trouble.”

It felt strange to be asked such things. Cyrus did his best to try and explain over lunch, but he felt it was inadequate. Eventually Plumeria stepped in to redirect the conversation.

“Why don’t you talk about the Hokulani Observatory? You’re always wantin’ to take me up there.”

Molayne’s face took on a particular excited light.

“Oh, yes, the observatory. It’s used to study the skies and stars over Alola. Although, nowadays it also serves as a trial spot overseen by my cousin.”

“Ah don’t get started on him again.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

The conversation carried on with Molayne describing the various achievements of the observatory aided by Alola’s clear skies. Cyrus found himself unable to stop listening. It had been a long time since he had heard such academic diction Molayne escalated in using. At some point Plumeria interrupted again to ask for some time alone with him.

Guzma breathed a sigh of relief. All the talk of space and stars and other stuff had been giving him a headache. It didn’t help he had to choke down his anger from losing earlier. Food could only do him so much good.

When Plumeria and Molayne left the table Guzma briefly massaged his temples. He caught Cyrus’s attention and smiled.

“Wanna go back to my room?”

“Yes.”

As they put their dishes away the headache faded off. It let him realize he could finally get a chance to be alone with Cyrus somewhere uninterrupted, at least until dinner. Electricity shot through his stomach and up his spine.

Guzma took Cyrus’s hand again as they went up the stairs. Together, alone in his room, he pulled Cyrus in close for a kiss. The electrical sensation showed up again. His hands fell to grip his boyfriend, oh yes _boyfriend he had to say that,_ by the waist.

“Please,” Cyrus whispered when they broke apart, “take off that getup before you kiss me again.”

It caught him so off guard Guzma pulled away to laugh.

“I know it looks bad but _really?_ ”

“Yes, really.”

Guzma giggled a few seconds more before shucking off his jacket. An idea sprang to mind.

“So, do you mean, like…my shirt too?”

He posed the question with a smirk. It felt like a dare, or maybe a tease. Either way he felt like messing around. Cyrus didn’t let his facial features change, but Guzma noticed the rising redness on his face.

“Why not?”

Guzma withheld laughing at the way Cyrus seemed to struggle to say just two words. Instead he made himself busy unbuttoning the shirt; he didn’t really like long-sleeved shirts anyway. Jackets were the exception when it came to sleeves. Otherwise the restraint felt like too much.

>He tossed both jacket and shirt onto the edge of his bed before sitting down on it. Cyrus walked over and, his face getting redder, appeared to be studying the hickeys on his neck.

“As I thought, they will be more permanent than mine.”

Oh, he meant the bite.

“Sorry I can’t do any better, babe.”

Guzma noticed how close Cyrus hovered in front of him. He felt a bit more confident than he should. Another idea on a similar train of thought came to mind; it wouldn’t be that weird of a thing to do. Without much resistance Cyrus was pulled down to sit sideways on his lap.

Cyrus jolted a little but relaxed to cover it up. He stared off in one direction which didn’t help but make Guzma smirk more.

“You’re so cute even when you’re embarrassed.”

“I told you how I feel about compliments.”

Guzma rested his chin on Cyrus’s shoulder. His wrapped his arms loosely around him as well. After a few seconds, Cyrus tilted his head towards him so they could touch.

They stayed silent like that until something in Guzma urged him to speak. Although, it was a topic he didn’t want to bring up directly. He dodged around it best he could.

“How are you holding up?” Guzma spoke the words into his neck. “Y’know, with last night and all.”

He felt Cyrus shiver. It reminded him offhand of the teeth thing.

“I will be fine.”

“Really?”

Cyrus tilted his head away then turned it to try and look at him with his peripheral.

“If I am to be honest, then probably not.”

Guzma smiled in reaction but it wasn’t for the usual reason. Actually, becoming self-aware of the smile, it reminded him of Nanu so he stopped.

“It’s okay. I don’t think I’ll get over the whole thing with my parents either.”

Cyrus turned his head back around and sighed softly. Guzma gave him a light squeeze and kissed his cheek. After which he thought of a better question to ask.

“So, what was with that whole bite thing, Cy?”

His arms were still wrapped tight around Cyrus. Just in case.

“It was only fair. I also wanted,” he paused, “ownership.”

Guzma pulled back his head in surprise.

“Ownership?”

“Are not those marks I gave you a sort of claim? I wanted something as well, although, I think I went about it wrong.”

The guilt in Cyrus’s voice made him nervous.

“No, no, ya did what you thought was right. Huh.”

Here he’d been trying to take turf and stake claims for years, and yet when it came up like this it confused him. Guzma wracked his brain for a suitable answer to what Cyrus wanted.

A thing that didn’t have to do with bites but wasn’t full of society expectations. He must have been thinking for a while because Cyrus eventually turned himself around in his lap to face him.

“Guzma?”

“I think I got somethin’. It should be in the closet.”

Cyrus got up and then Guzma went over to slide open the closet door. He rifled through coat hangers and picked up boxes. Groaning at his own messiness he stepped farther inside to try and find what he was thinking of. An item so small a closet would eat it; he should have put it somewhere special.

Guzma rooted around a box of stuff from home and found it.

“ _Got it!_ ”

He stepped back out with some difficulty due to the clothes. Cyrus had been waiting for him in the middle of the room. Guzma walked over and took one of his hands. In his free hand he held up a very old soothe bell.

“My mom got it for me when I was a kid. I ain’t never let anythin’ happen to it, but it’s so old it don’t ring anymore.”

It still had the red ribbon, which had worn out with age, attached to it. When shaken it let out a faint rattle. Cyrus regarded it in quiet awe.

“I had one as well, but it must be lost to time by now.”

Guzma smiled and started to tie it around Cyrus’s wrist.

“Then you can have mine. I need you to like me more anyways.”

He heard Cyrus give what he called a very faint snicker. With the bell secured he was pulled down for a long kiss.

“I think I would stay in love with you, regardless,” Cyrus whispered when they parted. Guzma smiled again aware of all the warmth flooding his system. He spoiled it by turning his smile into a smirk again.

“Looks like you forgot something.”

Cyrus stared at him in confusion until Guzma, who had stayed bent down, shifted where he stood. It was enough to remind Cyrus that he was still very much bare chested.

“Why are you acting this way?” He asked with a hand held up to his face in a tired gesture.

“Cause I like you. Nah, wait, sorry, it’s love, right?”/p>

Guzma was about to laugh when Cyrus gave him a particular look. He froze his face into a smile as Cyrus used a hand to pull him back down for another kiss.

Fingers were run through his hair which made him jolt. Part of him wondered if Cyrus felt that way about things. Not things, uh, when things were, when he did things, no, nope, kissing was not the time for thinking. Guzma let himself melt where he stood and his self-awareness petered out.

It came back when he felt Cyrus step away to suddenly break the kiss. He looked down and saw some sort of worry.

“What’s up?” _By the Tapu_ he felt good.

“You were, or you were going to. To.” Cyrus seemed to be almost at a loss for words which was a first. He’d always been wordy.

Cyrus wrestled it out of himself though.

“You were going to use your tongue.”

“Oh.”

Guzma didn’t remember at all what he had been doing. Nothing besides bliss.

“Sorry babe, guess I got carried away.”

Cyrus accepted the apology with a nod. Guzma moved away but Cyrus took one of his hands and threaded their fingers. Okay, things were okay. They spent some more quiet time together going through the internet on Guzma’s laptop. He decided their search topic would be bug type pokémon in Alola.

Dinner was served at a quaint table in the dining room adjacent to the kitchen. The four of them were eating together after the grunts had gotten their food and left. Not that Cyrus paid them much mind anymore. It gave him a vague notion of what having roommates in a residence hall was meant to be like.

As Cyrus expected, or maybe it was intuitive, the entire situation felt awkward. At lunch conversation had been relaxed, but this prepared atmosphere made things stiff. The awkwardness managed to permeate through to him. Cyrus guessed it’s what was making him feel lightheaded.

Plumeria and Molayne put up an effort to engage in conversation. Guzma sometimes reciprocated. He didn’t seem comfortable here either.

Cyrus couldn’t make himself join in. The awkwardness from the beginning had settled into his body and made him nauseated. He breathed a hard sigh and drained the last of his water.

It caught Molayne’s attention.

“Here, let me get that.”

After poured another glass Cyrus felt compelled to drink it. In fact, his appetite had vanished but he kept up with the water. Strange. Fatigue pulled at him, and he wanted to sleep it off. At the back of his mind, he felt guilt crawl up. It tried to bring up its accomplices and they were ignored.

Cyrus noticed Molayne glancing at him every now and then. Molayne noticed that he had noticed and decided to engage. Cyrus wished he wasn’t so perceptive.

“Say, where were you from again?”

“Sinnoh.” The word didn’t roll off his tongue easy which was odd.

He saw Molayne narrow his grey eyes. They were a darker color than Guzma’s. Maybe.

“A cold region isn’t it? Have you been wearing sweaters here this whole time?”

Cyrus gave him a slow blink. He knew he should have replied, but his mouth had stopped on its own. Were things falling slowly into disarray? Or had the walls always looked that way in Shady House?

The voices at the table started to grow farther away.

“Wait, Molayne, what are you sayin’?”

“Plumeria, you know about heat exhaustion? Or things like it?”

“Oh _Tapu_ I completely didn’t even- Molayne you’re brilliant but. This ain’t good. _Guzma!_ ”

Somewhere Cyrus heard a chair squeak as it was pushed back. More noises like it ensued. He had started to lose track of himself and his surroundings. At one point, a curtain fell across his vision and took his body with it. Cyrus knew he should have put up more of a fight against it. At a place along the way to wherever he ended up.

When he came to he noticed the couch first. Cyrus was seated upright on one inside of a hallway. He felt cold and somewhat sweaty which he didn’t like. What he did like was the fact Guzma knelt in front of him. Not the kneeling, just that he was close by with a hand pressed onto Cyrus’s shoulder.

“You awake, babe?” He asked in a low voice.

They were alone in the hallway. Cyrus flashed him a tired smile.

“I’m fine.”

Guzma raised an eyebrow. If he weren’t tired he might have rolled his eyes.

“Alright, I’m tired.”

He moved the hand to touch his cheek. Cyrus leaned into it on impulse.

“I’m sorry I didn’t think about you gettin’ sick earlier. None of us thought about it and I’m real sorry.”

Guzma’s voice trembled towards the end. It didn’t fit him. Cyrus kept the tired smile on his face as he went to reply.

“The blame is on me as well for not noticing. I attributed my fatigue to being a result of coming back to this world. I thought it nothing out of the ordinary.”

He watched Guzma screw his mouth into a smile.

“You always gotta make it even, huh?”

“Balance is key.”

Guzma weakly shook his head. Cyrus let his gaze wander and he saw his sweater had been replaced. It was a white shirt with black stripes. The sleeves barely reached his elbows. He moved his arm finding it weird to see so much of his own skin.

“Plumeria says you can’t wear anymore sweaters until you get used to Alola.”

Cyrus shifted his eyes back to Guzma.

“That means tomorrow we’re gonna go to Malie City. Don’t think you wanna keep using whatever Nanu picked out for ya.”

He couldn’t argue against a decision made for his benefit. Guzma stroked his cheek. It struck a faint spark inside his chest which felt pleasant.

“I’m gonna treat you to lunch so we gotta get up early. That okay?”

“It’s alright.” Even as Cyrus replied he saw the anxiety on Guzma’s face.

“But we could sleep in if-“

“-Guzma, it is fine whatever we do.”

Guzma still remained anxious but didn’t say anymore. Instead he leaned in to give him a brief kiss. Then Cyrus was helped up off the sofa and they walked back into the dining room.

Plumeria and Molayne had already cleared out. Cyrus admitted to not being in the mood to eat. Guzma cleared away their plates before he could move fast enough to help.

Later, Cyrus stared up at the stairs which led to the second floor. The fatigue and faintness from earlier were not as pronounced but remained present in his muscles. He started to psyche himself up when Guzma stepped up beside him.

“I don’t think I can let ya do that.”

Cyrus froze then took a cautious half step away from Guzma.

“I’m not so tired to where I cannot climb a few meager steps.”

“Sure ya can, babe.”

He took another step and the bell on his wrist rattled.

“Now, if you will just let me.”

Cyrus managed to get one foot on the stair. With no warning, in a matter of seconds, he then found himself in a completely different position. Guzma had swept him up off his feet in a swift singular motion. He was then carried up while being held across Guzma’s arms and close to his chest.

“ _Guzma._ ”

By the time Cyrus could manage to speak they were already halfway up.

“I said I was gonna treat ya.”

“ _I don’t need_ to be coddled.”

“Just this once, babe?”

Guzma asked as he paused near the top of the staircase. Cyrus started to answer in annoyance but noticed the look on Guzma’s face. The anxiety from earlier had carried over it seemed. Cyrus stared into his eyes then looked away.

“The once.”

He felt Guzma nuzzle the side of his face.

“Thanks babe.”

Guzma carried him the rest of the way into the bedroom. He set Cyrus down to stand on the floor and allowed him to walk over to the bed. When Cyrus sat down the desire for sleep immediately sprang up. He hurried in making himself comfortable so he didn’t fall asleep trying to do so.

The next morning came relatively slow. Guzma didn’t wake up first, in fact, he had woken up at three in the morning and never gone back to sleep. He let time crawl by from the bed mainly because he didn’t want to wake up Cyrus on accident. Which, when he told him later, it earned him a sigh. Guzma took it as a good thing.

Since they were going to Malie City he decided to change up his clothes. He put on a white short-sleeve shirt that had been smattered in paint. It had a liberal spread of pink and green splotches with some purple. Conscious of the marks on his neck he decided to pick up one of his plain black jackets to wear.

The pants he chose were custom sweats given to him by one of the grunts; they happened to be super into designing their own clothes, and Guzma had a backlog of “presents.” These were black sports sweats which read on the side in bold letters _Bug Boss._ He couldn’t argue with the attention to detail.

Before leaving the room Guzma remembered to grab his sunglasses. They had been hiding in a drawer forgotten for a few days. He met Cyrus on the staircase landing before going downstairs the get breakfast. Seemed he had taken a shower and changed clothes.

Cyrus still wore the same shirt from last night but changed into some blue jean capris. Whew, boy, that’s a sight.

Guzma realized Cyrus’s mouth was moving.

“Sorry, babe, what were you saying?”

“You’re staring,” Cyrus said averting his eyes.

He grinned in reaction.

“You look great.”

“I don’t believe that.”

Cyrus started down the stairs. Guzma followed feeling a bit clumsy.

“Aw, sure you do.”

“I don’t.”

The back and forth conversation continued through breakfast. It only stopped when they left Shady House and started the walk. Cyrus became distracted with how different the outside felt in the right kind of clothes.

Guzma thought of something as they walked through the meadow. He stopped and removed the sunglasses from where they were on his forehead.

“Here. Take my shades.”

Cyrus accepted them quietly. He examined them by running his fingers over the circular design.

“You don’t like it when it’s bright do you?”

“No…I don’t. Thank you.”

They started walking again. As they approached the entrance to Route Sixteen Cyrus put the sunglasses on. With it getting so close to noon the route was brightly lit even from where they were in the meadow.

Before either of them knew it they had come to a stop about where they had been the last time. They enjoyed the sea breeze for a minute or two. Cyrus decided to be the one to break the silence.

“How exactly are we getting there?”

Guzma put his hands on his hips and grinned in the direction of the ocean.

“Normally people would use a ride pokémon to get over here. Sometimes a ferryboat if they can afford it. But we in Team Skull aren’t normal people. I asked the grunts to get _it_ ready.”

“It?”

He took Cyrus’s hand and started leading him down to the shore. Over his excitement and the waves he heard the soothe bell rattle.

“Kinda have to hide it out of the way since, y’know, the Team Skull brand ain’t died down yet. But we still got this baby for makin’ getting to Tapu Village easier.”

Guzma navigated the shoreline with Cyrus to a hidden inlet. Waiting in the water was a black speedboat with the Team Skull insignia on its side. A grunt waved them over.

“Been waitin’ for ya, bossman. All ready to go.”

“Thanks man, see ya later.”

The grunt left and Guzma noticed how Cyrus was studying the boat.

“For some reason a boat was the last thing I thought of,” he admitted.

“Eh, it’s okay. Don’t think Sinnoh’s got much water does it?”

A small smile crept onto Cyrus’s face.

“It does not. It is more mountainous than anything.”

Guzma got on first then helped Cyrus climb up the side. On the drive over to Malie City he explained how they would have to hide inside another inlet by the port.

“Are you certain you cannot use the port normally now that your team is disbanded?”

“ _Nah,_ they’d just, uh. Hm.” He gave it some thought while staring out over the water ahead of him. “I mean, _maybe._ Rather not though.”

Cyrus let the topic drop and looked out over the waves. Guzma wondered if he should ask Nanu about that. The most important thing for today is he didn’t want people to recognize him and ruin their date. He had already been avoiding going out in public before meeting Cyrus. If he wasn’t seeking attention what reason was there? It was a confusing thing he hadn’t thought about in a while.

They found the inlet and landed. After securing the speedboat Guzma guided them back to Malie City’s port. He took Cyrus’s hand and kept a slow pace so Cyrus could look around. Which he very much did; it reminded Guzma of when he had first gotten to Po Town.

“This architecture,” Cyrus left the sentence open ended.

“Uh, I think it’s supposed to resemble somewhere on the mainland. I know the garden-“ Guzma gestured to the entrance as they walked past- “is supposed to be like Johto. Dunno if that counts for the rest.”

Cyrus gave a small nod. Guzma went on to point out the various shops and even went so far as the library and community center. So far no one in the crowds seemed to notice anything about him. No stares, no making a means to get away, nothing. Part of Guzma wanted to feel relief, but instead he felt bothered.

He steered them over to the town clothing shop. Once inside he felt even more bothered. There were tourists and some older aged locals combing the racks. A woman at the counter shouted _Alola_ over the small din of noise.

“Wanna make this quick?”

“As possible,” Cyrus replied.

They both shuffled over to a nearby rack of shirts with short sleeves. Guzma hung back as Cyrus made himself busy searching for his size. At odd intervals he would look around the store in boredom. Being tall as he was there was plenty to oversee.

Among all the colorful shirts and accessories a flash of silver hair caught his attention. Guzma blinked then focused more on the woman’s face. She had been comparing two hats when she caught him staring. The recognition shot through him from head to toe.

“ _Mom?_ ”

Whether he wanted her to or not his mom put down the hats. She started to make her way over to him from across the store. Guzma looked down for Cyrus, as if warning him would do any good, but Cyrus wasn’t where he had been.

“What the?”

He turned around and scoured for any sign, but it was like Cyrus had disappeared. Before getting the chance to look further his mom appeared off to the side.

“Guzma!”

“ _Not so loud!_ ” He bristled instinctively. When he remembered this was _his mom_ he tried to cool it. Guzma worked the tension from his shoulders into his jaw.

“What’re you _doin’ here?_ ”

“I wanted to see what sort of island this was. I’ve never been farther than Akala, and I figured I should come here.”

There was a hint of wistfulness in her voice that twisted Guzma’s guts. He relaxed his tense jaw and tried harder to speak softer.

“I’m sorry for not visitin’ more, but things got outta hand recently.”

She looked up at him with a patient smile he had seen before. Like how many times had she heard that excuse before? It screwed his guts up more.

“You know you can tell me anything. I’m your mother and that’s what counts.”

Guzma tried to force a grin but it didn’t work. He rubbed his mouth to hide it and avoided direct eye contact. Time to think. Sharing anything probably included boyfriends. Man, should he even start with that? Better than just trying to get her to leave the island. She just had to come all this way on her own; wonder who he took after.

Although, she still had to leave briefly because said boyfriend was missing.

“Then, can you wait outside for, like, fifteen minutes?”

She started to look on guard.

“No, listen mom, I’m gonna tell you somethin’. I just gotta, uh, find this guy I came here with. Promise,” Guzma insisted.

She stared at him a moment longer then nodded and left.

“Okay. Okay,” he muttered under his breath.

Guzma turned back around to scan the store. No sign of blue hair in sight. That could only mean one thing. He bent down to the rack Cyrus had been standing by. Slowly, Guzma reached in between the shirts and felt his hand snag on something solid.

“ _Cy, get out here,_ ” he whispered.

A rattle confirmed the suspicion. There was no response.

“Please?”

Guzma felt a smaller hand take his then Cyrus crept out. He did it so effortlessly it distracted him for a second.

Cyrus had a neutral expression on his face, or so it appeared. They both allowed the silence to go on for a while their hands loosely held together.

“You have your mother’s eyes.”

Okay, they had to start this off better. Guzma pulled him closer and off to a side of the store that had fewer people.

“I didn’t want you to meet her like this either, but-“

“-I’m actually not sure if I ever wanted to.”

The abruptness of Cyrus cutting in threw Guzma off. The remark sunk in after. He felt a small rush of reactionary emotions, but put them to the side because of the haunted look on Cyrus’s face.

Guzma glanced skyward and breathed.

“She’s not bad, babe.”

“I am aware.”

“Then _what is up?_ ” He leaned down as he asked.

Cyrus stared at a brightly colored button-up on the wall.

“I have never had to do this before. I’m not sure if I can.”

Guzma thought hard about what he should say. When he formed what sounded like a coherent response he took both of Cyrus’s hands into his. It made Cyrus face towards him.

“I want you to at least meet my mom. I want her to know about us, babe, cause ya boy Guzma ain’t scared of nothin’. I especially ain’t scared of sayin’ how much I love you to someone.”

Cyrus appeared to try and think of a reply. He tried a few more times before sighing in submission. Guzma leaned down and kissed his forehead.

“C’mon, we got four minutes to buy you somethin’.”

At stepping through the door into the clothing store Cyrus immediately disliked the atmosphere. He set about trying to rush through the task at hand. Yet, none of the available shirts on the rack grabbed his interest. The frustration propelled him to keep searching.

He was immersed until he heard Guzma whisper that one word. At the mention of his mother Cyrus’s mind broke into a million places and situations. In the end all he could think of doing was to hide in the closest place available. He thanked his quiet existence and remained hidden as he heard the conversation go on between Guzma and his mother.

After a few more blunders they were at the checkout counter buying a small stack of shirts and pants. Cyrus felt his mind full of static. None of him knew how to react. What were the conventions to these things? He had never thought of researching them. His fingers itched for the tablet he had hidden away inside his room.

Cyrus walked beside Guzma as they exited the store. He removed the sunglasses from his face to be more appropriate.

Guzma’s mother stood near the sign only pretending to study it; she was dressed in casual but summery clothes. Her silver hair was tied into a loose bun. He had been right she had Guzma’s gray eyes; when she saw them he noticed they sparkled with the same lively energy.

Cyrus felt his hand gravitate towards Guzma’s who took it. Guzma’s mother eyed him.

“Is this one of your Team Skull friends?”

For a brief second Cyrus felt his heart clutch into his throat. He heard Guzma guffaw then respond.

“ _No!_ ”

“Oh.”

_Why was she disappointed?_

“You’ve always been hiding them from me. I was just guessing.”

“I’m sorry, we’ll get to that next time, _I guess._ ”

Guzma cleared up his snickering and squeezed his hand. Cyrus choked his heart back down.

“Mom, this is my boyfriend Cyrus.”

Her eyes lit up and she looked at each of them. The momentary scrutiny made him tense. At last she clapped her hands together once.

“That’s wonderful!”

Cyrus felt a strange sense of relief but it dissipated when he lost track of the conversation. It was due to Guzma’s mother switching over to the native language. He could hear in her tone, though, a gratuitous amount of what he guessed to be praise.

Guzma replied in the same language the embarrassment evident on his face.

Cyrus watched them and felt uneasy about not being able to comprehend what they were talking about. He was hearing his name a lot.

It unnerved him to the brink of almost asking. The thing that stopped him was the fact they had been pulled into an embrace. Cyrus tried to free himself but found it impossible and gave up. Despite her size and age Guzma’s mother had quite the grip. What work had she retired from?

“I have to treat you two to lunch,” she said as she stepped away.

“Ma, no you don’t.”

She shot him a glare and continued.

“You’ve been telling me no for years. I am not about to let this chance slip up. Before you were everyone else’s boy you were mine, you know?”

Cyrus slid the sunglasses down over his eyes. The embarrassed emotions fluttered around his chest, but he felt more grounded. This wasn’t as terrible a situation as it could be. His mind flashed to yelling, to icy polite conversations, and he put the memories away.

Guzma’s mother guided them to one of the first eateries they had seen on the way into Malie City. The sign read Sushi High Roller. She hustled them inside and they were seated. Due it being a little after noon the small restaurant was packed, but there was a corner table still available.

On the way over to it Cyrus looked out at the patrons seated at the bar. He recognized the back of Nanu’s head and decided to say nothing. Guzma had enough to deal with.

The lunch turned out pleasant. Cyrus relaxed over the course of hearing Guzma’s mother tell childhood stories most of them involving bug pokémon.

“Do you remember the caterpie you saved from a spearow?”

At being asked Guzma intently stared down at his food which was almost gone. The entire time he had been quiet to let her talk; Cyrus noticed the redness that remained at his neckline. It was admirable effort.

Guzma kept staring down as he replied.

“It was a cutiefly.”

“Right, right! I had just gotten back from another shift at the Pokémon Center. I was boned tired, but Guzma ran in all scared and worried for the poor thing. I managed to heal it up quick, but he _insisted_ he keep it to keep an eye on it.”

The smile on her face was wide with pride. Her gaze drifted from Guzma over to him.

“I want you to know, Cyrus,” it felt strange to hear her say his name, “I’m glad you see what I see in my boy.”

He wanted to reply properly but instead made an affirmative noise. To see what she saw; the remark was thought provoking. Cyrus glanced at Guzma again but his inner reflection cut itself off at seeing Guzma hunched over.

“ _Ugh, Ma, you gotta do this right now?_ ”

She laughed at his embarrassment.

“What is a mother for, sweetie?”

Guzma groaned and sunk even lower. With a hand digging into his hair, he muttered about her cutting it out. The light atmosphere reminded Cyrus of a vague memory. One not cloaked in melancholy or wistfulness. He lost his grasp on it too quickly.

The lunch ended without much further incident. They stood outside to part ways.

“Try and take care of him for me.”

“I can take of myself, _Mom._ ”

Cyrus agreed regardless and stiffened when she leaned over to give him a quick embrace. The cheek kiss was also a surprise, but he told himself it was probably a custom. A custom and yet it felt so out of place on him.

She pulled away and began to walk off towards the dock. Cyrus heaved a sigh and fiddled with the sunglasses. It must have caught Guzma’s attention.

“That musta been a lot to take in. Sorry our date kinda turned sideways.”

Cyrus thought about it then shook his head.

“No, neither of us could have known. And.” He paused to consider. “I like your mother. She reminds me of someone.”

He felt a faint breeze and noticed Guzma had leaned in closer.

“Who?”

“I don’t remember yet.”

Guzma cocked his head to one side then kissed his cheek.

“Tell me when, alright.”

“Alright.”

He leaned away and took Cyrus’s hand.

“So, you feel like goin’ home?”

“Yes.”

They walked in a comfortable silence back to the boat. The only noise between them was the rustle of the plastic bags Guzma obstinately carried. It allowed Cyrus’s mind to wonder back to the almost-memory. Pieces of images and voice clips came back to him, but they were all indistinct. The layers of morose time had not been kind at all.

By the time they reached the boat Cyrus had put the memory down again. It was too frustrating to fight with.

The ride back over to Route Sixteen was peaceful. The island stayed in sight on one side, but he liked to stare out across the endless expanse of blue. Cyrus had never cared for the ocean but watching the waves zoom past managed to be soothing. Something about the horizon’s line between ocean and sky grabbed him.

When they reached Shady House Plumeria was waiting for them by herself.

“Guz, I got news.”

“What is it?”

She put a hand on her hip and looked at each of them.

“The grunts you been missin’ are comin’ back tomorrow. One of ‘em just called me to lemme know.”

“For real?”

Plumeria nodded her head and a smirk creeped onto her face. Cyrus had never seen her do that before.

“Some of ‘em are gonna need that room Cy’s been takin’ up which _means._ ”

“Means he’s gotta room with me?”

She gave a nod and half turned around.

“Glad to see you been thinkin’ about it already. I’ll leave you guys to it.”

Most of the day was then occupied by moving Cyrus’s things into Guzma’s room. Or, if he were to be more accurate, most of the time went into restructuring the bedroom to befit two people.

Boxes in the closet were tidied up to make space for Cyrus’s. The chest of Bugium Z was shoved off near the door as a reminder to drop it off later at Nanu’s. Cyrus sorted out which clothes he wanted to keep or toss. Amusingly all the clothes he had bought at Malie had a similar theme of star patterns.

Almost as soon as they finished dinner Cyrus felt ready for sleep. The day had turned out busier than he anticipated. He was relieved Guzma didn’t mind going to bed earlier than usual.

There was an ocean encasing him. He recognized it through the sound a faint noise inside his ears he couldn’t describe perfectly. Cyrus felt a shift launch him forwards and break through to the surface. It caught his attention that it didn’t feel like water; there was a lack of wet; and the sky above was pitch black devoid of stars.

When Cyrus looked down the sight answered his question.

An endless ocean of chains bore down on his lower half. They didn’t rattle or clink as hard or loud as Cyrus imagined they would have in such number. Yanked, he started to fall back beneath the surface. Sounds started up from somewhere; they were voices he knew but didn’t.

Link by link, he was pulled deeper feeling an odd sense of apathy and acceptance.

Cyrus came up to his shoulders when a chain caught around his throat. The distinct sensation reminded him of the last dream. It came back with such force he shuddered and spasmed. Cyrus clawed and struggled, a useless struggle, but he couldn’t do this again. _Not again, not again, not yet, no, I have something now; don’t take this, don’t take this precious thing. A voice different than the chorus, you’ll be able to do it soon enough._

He felt the chains go to seize him but Cyrus startled awake. The bedroom was dimly lit from the light under the door. He moved his legs and felt them bump up against his houndoom which had been allowed out.

Cyrus became conscious of the fact his breath was ragged. He concentrated on evening it out so he could actually pay attention to anything else. Settling down he realized Guzma was holding him in his arms and hadn’t said a word.

When he had regained full composure Cyrus laid his head close to Guzma’s chest. He felt exhausted and closed his eyes to focus on listening for Guzma’s heartbeat. Something to lull him back to sleep. The houndoom moved itself closer to his back.

“Babe, you gotta tell me ‘bout these things.”

Guzma spoke so suddenly it caught him off guard. After he recovered, Cyrus turned his face away to avoid looking directly at Guzma.

“There’s nothing to discuss.” He noticed his voice sounded husky and worn.

“Now that’s a lie. You were shakin’ in your sleep, _in my arms_ just a few minutes ago. Bet you don’t even remember.”

Cyrus felt his face burn. Guzma moved one of his hands and used it to make him look back at him. He heard his houndoom whine softly.

“You gotta come on and tell me, Cyrus. Don’t know if it’ll help til you do it.”

He stared back in silence as he debated. The last thing he wanted to do was create a rift between them. And over something as small and simple as dreams.

“It is only, I don’t. I don’t.”

Cyrus stopped himself and dropped his gaze. Frustration came up onto him and he struggled to hold it back. He knew it wasn’t aimed at Guzma, it was more so at himself and the things beyond him. That’s what was frustrating about this. Cyrus pushed himself into a more upright position as if it would help articulate his point.

“How come I _have_ to have these nightmares? Why do I dream of _chains_ , of _dying_ , of accepting getting mauled and getting torn apart? I never dreamed _at all_ in the Distortion World though there are _plenty_ of things there to have a nightmare about. I can be given this _second chance_ but I have to _have nightmares?_ As some sort of _tradeoff? Why?_

“I know the Lake Guardians have their curses. I deserve them, probably, but they were never given. What kind of curse is _this_ then? To be absolutely haunted in my dreams? _It makes no sense._ ”

By the end of it he was shaking slightly. Guzma reached up and stroked the side of his face. Cyrus couldn’t read the emotion on his face, but there was a softness latent there.

“Sounds pretty bad, babe. You feel any better?”

He wanted to retort that he didn’t. But the frustration didn’t feel as heavy on his mind anymore. The heat had been taken out of him it seemed. His houndoom nosed the back of his head and Cyrus had to awkwardly reach back to pet it. Once reassured the houndoom settled itself back down.

“Possibly.”

Cyrus settled on that. Guzma let out a single _ha_ and stroked his face again. He leaned into it then bent down to kiss him. Cyrus made himself comfortable in Guzma’s arms again preferring to be pressed closer than before.

Guzma wrapped one arm around his waist. Then, with his free one, he played a little with Cyrus’s hair. Cyrus closed his eyes and relaxed. Guzma had started to hum something; he wasn’t very good and the tune faded in and out. But it was nice.

Guzma didn’t let himself fall asleep for a few hours. It had actually scared him when he woke up to Cyrus having that nightmare. The way he shook in his sleep wasn’t intense, but it was the fact it happened at all. He couldn’t sleep with the idea of having it happen again. Somewhere in the night his endurance ran out and it let him slip off.

The next morning they woke up with neither of them wanting to move or get out of bed. Cyrus’s houndoom sort of forced them into it with how many times it kept jumping on and off the bed. It didn’t bark but hearing the constant whine was getting on Guzma’s nerves. He preferred the idea of having one of his bugs buzz directly into his ear.

When they did get out of bed there was an awkward silence. They both realized they would have to dress in front of each other. Guzma didn’t think he’d mind; he’d seen Cyrus shirtless before, although those times were involuntary. Maybe that’s what made this time feel so different. Slowly they both picked out their clothes from the closet and dressed.

Guzma decided on another set of clothes made for him. He put on a tank top that read _Big Boss_ across the background of a grassy terrain-like texture. The pants he wore were the same ones that read _Bug Boss._ He almost forgot to wear his jacket. Consistency, right?

Cyrus wore a star patterned shirt he bought yesterday along with a pair of navy blue knee-length shorts. When it was all done the atmosphere cleared up a little. The houndoom which had been stuck reclining on the bed barked once. Cyrus went over to it and hushed it with a few pats.

Guzma went to stand at his side and mention getting breakfast. Cyrus kept him from going on by pulling him down for a kiss. Then a second, longer and deeper kiss followed. Guzma enjoyed the attention although he didn’t know if he’d done anything to get it.

“What’s up? Is it about last night?” He asked in a gravelly whisper still not entirely awake yet for the day.

“I remembered there is some reason to celebrate.”

As Cyrus replied he pulled away and picked up the Alolan guidebook. It had been left on the nightstand they moved next to the bed yesterday. Guzma had completely ignored it until Cyrus went to pick it up. He pulled an envelope out of some pages. Inside the envelope were a thick stack of papers.

Guzma took the papers when offered and skimmed through them. They seemed to be a bunch of legal junk he wouldn’t otherwise care for. There was a letter from Nanu he frowned at but scanned over. The last bit got his attention as most important sounding.

>   
>  _‘I pulled my last favors to get all these in order, so don’t go expecting any more help from me. I don’t think you’ll need it much more anyway. Take care wherever you end up going on this little second chance you got going on.’_  
> 

  


He folded them up and gave them back.

“So, you really live here now, huh?”

“I do.”

Cyrus neatly tucked them back inside the envelope and placed it all back onto the nightstand. He had a soft smile on his face.

“It’s a sign I am actually here.”

“Don’t think you needed some papers to tell you that, but if it makes you happ."

Guzma pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek. Cyrus leaned against him and allowed the hug to go on. Then the houndoom barked again and they had to leave for downstairs.

It was around a little in the afternoon when the grunts came back. Guzma had been hanging around downstairs with Cyrus after a headsup text Plumeria got. They were in the middle of looking at something on Cyrus’s tablet when a loud honk came from outside.

“Sounds like them,” he said starting for the front door. Cyrus put the tablet down somewhere safe and followed him outside.

One of the trucks that had been missing was pulled and parked out in front of Shady House. About ten or so grunts were packed into and onto it. In the truck bed there were a few things being covered over by tarps. For some reason, the sight of seeing so many grunts making a ruckus among themselves felt nostalgic.

“ _Alola!_ ” Guzma decided to shout it out to get their attention.

All their gazes converged onto him. Then, unexpectedly, he noticed they weren’t looking at him, but at Cyrus who stood motionless beside him. After taking a few seconds to look they started talking at once.

“Yo, wow, is that _the Boss’s boyfriend?_ ”

“Whoa, dude, _he’s cute!_ ”

“Yeah, _he’s really handsome!_ ”

“I dunno he seems kinda-“

“ _-He’s amazing you jerk! Don’t diss the boss’s bf!_ ”

The grunts fell into a clamor among themselves again. Guzma ran a few fingers through his hair and dared to look down at Cyrus.

“They’re my homies, alright.”

Cyrus was busy staring at the ground with a red face.

“It’s fine,” he replied after a few seconds.

One of the grunts near the cab yelled above the noise. The rest of the grunts quieted down and a box was passed up from somewhere else on the truck. Doors opened and they clumsily all started to unpack out of the truck. By end of it they clustered into a semicircle and one of them presented Guzma the box.

“For you, boss. Sorry it’s kinda late.”

Guzma took it and popped open the lid a little to keep whatever was inside from getting soaked. His immediate response was to laugh, but he held it back.

It was a cake decorated with little bug pokémon and with the message _Congrats on the boyfriend_ written on it in icing. He let Cyrus peek into the box and lost composure when his face got even redder.

“ _How’d you even-_ “ Guzma wheezed between laughs- “learn about this?”

The grunts looked taken aback by his reaction. One of them managed to speak up.

“Uh, Plumeria happened to mention it. We also got her a cake.”

That almost sent him off into another fit, but Guzma reeled himself back in. He noticed Cyrus’s embarrassment had died down into contemplation.

“I’ve never received a cake before,” he stated calmly as he stared into the cakebox.

Guzma looked from him then to the crowd of grunts that had to overhear that. Knowing nothing they would obviously take it to some sort of extreme. He wondered if he should mention anything when they started up at once.

“Yo, _he’s never had a cake before?!_ ”

“Bro, that’s too sad!”

“A cute guy like that never got any cakes? Or _parties?_ ”

“Guys, I dunno if we should-“

“ _-Let’s throw a party!_ ”

There was a widespread yell of approval. Then they stared over at Guzma.

“Sure, knock yourself out.”

The grunts ran past him and packed into Shady House. Guzma watched them go and turned towards Cyrus who had also been watching.

“You really ain’t never had one before?”

“None that would have been this lively.”

Cyrus glanced up at him with a small grin.

“Am I to expect it to be exhausting?”

Guzma grinned back.

“I’ll be there in case you need to head out or somethin’.”

They were about to walk back inside the house when half the grunts came rushing back out the door.

“Sorry, boss, forgot about the stuff in the truck!”

Guzma and Cyrus stood off to one side. Even though it really wasn’t any of his business anymore, Guzma felt like asking.

“What stuff?”

A grunt hung back to answer the question.

“Uh, just some things for the house. A new dishwasher, a new laundry machine, uh,” he paused as he blanked out for a few seconds, “some boxed furniture-“

“ _-That’s furniture in boxes!_ ”

One of the others had interjected as if this was an ongoing problem.

Guzma grinned and shook his head. It was amazing how much these guys could accomplish on their own without him noticing. He gestured with a hand towards the truck.

“Ya gonna need a hand with that?”

The grunt looked from him to the truck.

“Eh, maybe, if you wanna.”

Guzma handed the cakebox off to Cyrus and proceeded to walk over. They took their time unloading things and getting them into Shady House. He lost track of how long it took and what Cyrus was doing.

When the last box had been dropped off inside the house Guzma started to look for him. Seemed Cyrus had gotten his tablet, settled on the first floor, and killed time that way.

“Hey, babe,” he greeted him before bending down for a quick kiss.

The corner of Cyrus’s mouth twitched. He raised a hand and wiped it over his mouth.

“Sweat.”

Guzma gave a short laugh.

“Yeah, nothin’ to it though. Ya boy’s stronger than ever.”

“Strong enough to carry me.”

“That ain’t no problem, though.” He thought back to the staircase. “Ya gainin’ some since bein’ here.”

Cyrus didn’t seem to know how to take the statement and dropped the topic. Together, they went to check on the status of the party preparations. The room where the awkward double date had been was chosen as the spot. Most of the preparations were completed during the time it took to move things inside the house; in fact most grunts were already there.

The dining table had been pushed back against a wall and set up with snacks. The cake was made into a centerpiece on the snack table. There was a boom-box being used in a corner to blast someone’s mixtape. It played just a bit louder than everyone else.

Plumeria seemed to have been waiting for them.

“Great party, Guz.”

“Plumes, please. This happened to you too, right?”

She crossed her arms and started to stare out across the room which filled up with a few grunts from the kitchen.

“Imagine all’a this inside a trailer.”

Guzma couldn’t help but laugh. He walked off with Cyrus around the room after a small wave. To whoever happened to talk to them Guzma did most of the talking, not that he minded.

They managed to make it over to the snack table and snag a few plates of food and drinks. Guzma spotted a couch and they sat on it to eat. Over the course of their meal they watched as a breakdance battle changed into a karaoke concert.

All the chaos in the atmosphere felt nostalgic like earlier. Brought back nice memories of Team Skull’s early days. Guzma felt at home in the noise but kept an eye on Cyrus. He seemed to be doing okay, at least until the karaoke started. When he noticed the discomfort Guzma stacked his paper plates and turned to him.

“Wanna bail?”

“If we must,” came the quick reply.

The look on his face totally said he should.

“You’re too nice, dude, c’mon.”

Guzma took his hand and, after throwing away their trash, they left Shady House and started to walk. No real destination was in mind but he could see Cyrus began to unwind without all the noise. That was good enough.

Somehow, they managed to walk all the way down to Route Sixteen’s beach. They were just in time to see the sun begin to set. Cyrus decided to lead the way down closer to the water. Guzma was happy to follow, now that he thought about it, they hadn’t been alone together much for that day.

Out of his pants pocket Cyrus took out a poké ball. Guzma already had a vague feeling as to which pokémon he would send out.

The gyarados appeared in the rippling waves with a roar sent skyward. Guzma frowned in reaction but covered it up when Cyrus beckoned the pokémon to bend down. When it did he stroked the sides of its face and few times. Guzma watched in silent awe.

Cyrus reached into another pocket and took out a bag of poké beans. Guzma continued to watch him feed the gyarados until he offered him the bag.

“Uh, you sure?”

He couldn’t exactly tell what the pokémon was feeling. It had been hissing while being fed and slowly swaying its head. Was that a good sign? It had to be if Cyrus didn’t look fazed at all, right?

“Certainly.”

Guzma took the bag and pulled out a bean. The gyarados eyed him with its fierce gaze and let out a hiss. Cyrus had been holding them out and allowing the gyarados to lick them off his palm. Guzma decided to just flick it.

The change in action didn’t affect the gyarados at all. It simply ate the poké bean and hissed again this time shaking its head. Guzma relaxed although he hadn’t noticed when he got tense in the first place.

Cyrus stepped closer to him and took his hand. He should have expected this, honestly, just them, on the beach, with Cyrus making him pet his gyarados. It wasn’t _terrible_ it was just _slightly_ uncomfortable.

Guzma went to take his hand away when a noise caught his attention.

Cyrus had been quietly enjoying the alone time with his lover, _yes it did have a better sound_. The party had been draining to endure. A bit more than he had anticipated, and the instant they were outside amidst the rain he felt better. Witnessing the beach covered in orange glaze had improved his mood.

Now he was watching as Guzma pulled away from him and his gyarados to listen for something. At least, that had to explain the way he was swiveling his head around.

“Guzma?”

“Shh!”

Guzma dropped into a crouch. Cyrus decided it would be wise to return his gyarados to its poké ball. He listened for any odd sound in particular and noticed a strange whishing noise. His attention was drawn towards a pile of driftwood which Guzma started to creep up on.

The creeping led to a tackle. Which evolved into a tussle with something small and hard to see.

“ _Aha, still got it!_ ”

To Cyrus’s mute surprise Guzma held a pokémon between his hands. He recognized it from one of their earlier times spent together. A wimpod squirmed and wriggled to get away to no avail. Guzma beamed with a smile and held it tight against his chest. As he walked back over towards him Cyrus could hear him mutter to it in Alolan.

“I was hopin’ I’d get the chance to show you one of these guys in person.”

He noticed the wimpod had calmed down some, but remained unsettled. Cyrus withdrew a poké bean from the bag.

“Oh, good idea!”

Guzma took another step closer. Cyrus held out the bean and allowed the wimpod to see it first. To his surprise, it didn’t hesitate long before devouring the bean in a matter of seconds. It wriggled itself but this time to show pleasure if he was to read the body language correctly.

“Aw, he loved it!”

The wimpod was nestled squarely into the nook of Guzma’s arm. He used a free hand to give it a few rubs on the head. After a while Cyrus joined in; he had to admit, the way it showed delight was adorable. It made him remember what else he had in his pockets and he revealed an ultra ball.

“Cy, really?”

Guzma looked from the ultra ball to him. The look in his eyes caused Cyrus to smile in reaction.

“I do happen to have room for one more.”

The wimpod seemed to recognize what he was insinuating. It made the strange whish sound and wriggled itself. Something about the situation jogged his memory but it proved hard to grasp like the last time.

Instead of lingering on it Cyrus tossed the poké ball. It bounced off the wimpod, took it in, and fell onto the sand where it writhed. In a matter of seconds the ball stopped and clicked to signal the catch was successful.

“Congrats, babe,” said Guzma.

Cyrus bent down and picked up the ball putting it away.

“Ya know you didn’t have to go and catch it.”

“Nonsense, raising a pokémon together will be…fun.”

Guzma leaned away to let out a few snickers. It gave Cyrus a moment to notice the sunset and how it turned everything about Guzma slightly orange. It was a wonderful hue on him. He had an impulse, similar to the one from that morning, and stepped closer to close the gap. Guzma noticed and smiled down at him.

“I love you, babe.”

“I love you, too,” he answered without hesitation.

They stared at each other a few more seconds before Guzma bent down to kiss him. Cyrus immediately lifted his fingers up to run through to his hair. He enjoyed the squeeze on his hips in reaction. It was oddly satisfying to do that every time. To know the little intricacies of what someone liked. They broke apart and deepened the kiss a second time.

He jolted a little when he felt Guzma do that strange thing from before. A tongue lightly brushed against his lips. His jolt made Guzma pull back and he opened his eyes.

Guzma looked at him like he was about to ask. Probably about if they should stop or he should apologize. Cyrus stopped him by following another impulse which was to pull him back into the kiss. Guzma relaxed into it but not without a few noises in his throat that could be mistaken for chuckles. _The house would be crowded, why not, just, why not, this one time, follow all these impulses to the ends. It was just them._

He felt the tongue visit his lips again but this time he parted them. The action made his face flush fast with heat, but he ignored it. Their tongues met and lightly brushed against each other. It had to be the strangest but most sensual sensation. Their tongues kept meeting in small, brief touches but as it went on, whatever this kissing was, they both grew more adventurous.

Too adventurous for they had to eventually pull apart for air. It reminded Cyrus of that time back under the gazebo and he almost laughed. He didn’t have time judging by the way Guzma was holding him; Cyrus hadn’t noticed but somewhere along the way his hands had crept all the way up to his shoulders. They were moving to cup his face next. When they closed the gap again it was comforting to note the heat wasn’t just in his face alone.

They exchanged a few more tags of tongue until they broke for air a second time. Cyrus was startled out of his dazed state by opening his eyes to see the fact night had fallen. It made him break his gaze from Guzma’s to look out across the ocean. The moon had not risen fully, but the stars glittered in a brilliance he had not seen in some time.

Guzma removed his hands and pressed warm lips against his cheek.

“Babe?” It was whispered against his skin making it crawl despite the residual day’s heat.

Cyrus moved one of his hands from where it had slightly entangled in Guzma’s hair to rest against his lover’s, _a very fitting moniker,_ neck.

“I don’t believe I’ve seen the stars here.”

He stared across the ocean a moment longer before turning back to Guzma who hadn’t looked away from him. A sea breeze blew across them acting like a reminder of where exactly they were. It made Cyrus long for the comfort of a bed.

“Can I take you to Malie tomorrow?”

The question felt sudden.

“Why?”

“I want you to see the garden. I wanna see that look on your face.”

Cyrus tilted his head in curiosity.

“A look?”

“You’re so, _so,_ ” Guzma hung on the word while finding the other, “I dunno _gorgeous_ when you look at things. New things.”

For some reason the remark made him smile. He idly moved his thumb against the side of Guzma’s neck.

“You can take me anywhere you want.”

Guzma grinned and planted another kiss against his cheek. They pulled away from each other but walked back towards Shady House holding hands. Cyrus listened as Guzma pointed out in the dark the various pokémon cries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Annotations  
> *"Plumeria swiped at the screen." Plumeria technically took a candid pic of Guzma on the throne but I completely forgot to reference it later.  
> *I originally wanted to give Cyrus a laptop but figured a tablet would be the next easiest thing. Eventually he'll get around to feeling more comfortable carrying it with him places.  
> *"Cyrus dug it out from where he had hidden it" He has a tendency to hide precious documents or books or anything he can't keep on his person. It's a habit from childhood.  
> *"Sacred Tapu Koko and Lele" If you couldn't already tell I wanted to try writing Guzma without swears, as close to in-game as I could make him be. Coming up with newfangled Alolan swears was fun to be honest. They vary from island to island because as you could tell Guzma didn't swear by Bulu here.  
> *"other than, uh, yes?" Yeah that line's a reference to the meme. Not that Guz is a meme here but he would be.  
> *"of all the last times" I have a feeling Guzma's had a history of jumping the gun on love confessions and they didn't turn out well at all.  
> *"after creeping past Cyrus’s door" It was not a very stealthy manuver. Cyrus was too busy either sleeping or zoning out though to notice.  
> *"Cyrus stood in front of one of the...windows" I originally had him standing there with one of his pokemon but decided it'd be more moody if he were alone.  
> *" I was strong enough without it an’ yet" This is me being bitter towards the lore.  
> *"i heard him stay awake" A lie but Plumeria looks out for everyone.  
> *"pokémon type horoscope" This is a hilarious headcanon for pokemon and it should be more appreciated.  
> *I'm sure it's not weird to anyone else but Guzma's room not having a window made it interesting to try and tell time of day.  
> *"in an embrace" One thing I tried to do with the viewpoints is make it more evident with diction. If you read closely you can spot this or you already picked up on it.  
> *Sorry for not providing food details but just know that Guzma only knows a little about cooking for himself.  
> *"on touch screen" I figured a fun way to date Cyrus would be to make him slightly dislike touch screen tech.  
> *I figured it would be hilarious and relatable if the first kiss didn't go to plan right off the bat.  
> *Why wouldn't I include the idea that Guzma lets bug pokemon hang out in his hair?  
> *"Man, it was hard to think straight." I didn't want the text to be just a play by play so I tried to put something else in there.  
> *"he had learned from his mother" I really wanted to include references to Guz's mom and this came to mind besides a lullaby.  
> *"Maybe just a little more" Cyrus is the most coy tease when he feels like it.  
> *"wasn’t full of society expectations" That's a nice little stab at promise rings.  
> *"what having roommates in a residence hall" This is a super in-joke/niche sort of humor and I just had to keep it in there.  
> *The Skull Grunt who designs clothes is indeed nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns.  
> *My strangest hc is that Guzma is good with numbers just has little patience.  
> *Most of what Guzma's mom says is complimenting Cyrus on his looks and how much more responsible he seems compared to Guzma which embarrasses him.  
> *In-game you can actually see Nanu at the sushi place if you order the rounin set.  
> *"shift at the Pokémon Center." Technically she worked odd jobs but her steadiest was working at the PC doing things that required heavy lifting or similar.


	3. Seized/The Concession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the final part to this harlockshipping fanfic! This section for the most part is a lot of fun, a lot of messing around and being, maybe, unnecessarily dramatic. I hope it’s a fun read for everyone who’s been waiting for it. Thank you for the support!

Time whisked into the next day very quickly if Cyrus had to say. Shady House became more alive than it had ever been; the new grunts, or rather returned grunts, were making noise as adjustments to the new furniture and appliances were done. Both he and Guzma left Shady House rather early to get some space for themselves. Until the noise died down not even their room together would let them feel alone.

Cyrus had taken to wearing Guzma’s circular sunglasses again. Today the starred shirt he wore in particular had a broad collar. Guzma pointed out as they walked the small starry pattern across the shirt was a native pokémon called minior. Cyrus wore the same the navy blue shorts if for the sake of their deep pockets.

Guzma seemed taken with wearing the _Bug Boss_ pants, although Cyrus suspected it was in part due to the grunt who made them. They had spotted Guzma at the party and animatedly asked about how the pants felt to wear. Guzma did wear a different shirt today; a short sleeved one with a pattern called “poison bee.”

Together they were making their way to the Team Skull speedboat again. No grunt waited for them which meant Guzma would have to check over it himself. During the wait Cyrus decided to let the wimpod out of its poké ball onto the sand. It took a poké bean to convince it to come over to him. He held it the same way he had seen Guzma do the evening prior and fawned over it.

Eventually they were speeding over the waves towards Malie City. The entire experience served to jog his memory again. During the ride Cyrus focused harder on the fuzzy memory. The waves, ocean, the two of them, the presence of pokémon. There was that voice again playing itself in clips. _Of course you can keep it, it’s your’s now, don’t let them get to you, you’ll be able to do it soon enough, I’m here. Here._

“Grandfather. That’s the voice.”

“What, babe?”

Guzma had just steered them into the inlet near the port. He let the boat drift so that it was quiet enough to hear each other.

Cyrus turned towards him still holding the wimpod in his arms.

“I remembered who your mother reminded me of.”

It piqued Guzma’s interest immediately.

“Tell me more.”

“That might take some time,” Cyrus said glancing down at the shoreline.

Guzma huffed but went on to moor the speedboat properly. Once they were on solid ground, and the boat taken care of, they walked a ways off. Guzma made a place for them in the sand with his plain black jacket. Cyrus sat beside him and let the wimpod wander on its own. For most of the time it seemed content to scuttle back and forth between them.

Cyrus took a moment to line up the memory inside his mind. He stared out across the waves tinted darker because of the sunglasses.

> _It was a scratchy memory, hard to recall precisely. His grandfather had come to visit his parents in Sunyshore for whatever reason. Near sundown of one day, Cyrus remembered being taken out of the house. His grandfather let him borrow a pokémon for the occasion._
> 
> _‘You’re going to learn how to catch a pokémon today. Doesn’t matter what your parents say.’_
> 
> _Cyrus remembered relief. He took in every word in the lesson on how to command his grandfather’s magneton. It was best suited to the area outside of Sunyshore which often attracted electric types. Cyrus remembered wanting a magneton of his own, he thought maybe he would catch a magnemite to start with. But the pokémon that appeared in the tall grass that day wasn’t one of them._
> 
> _It was a murkrow uncommon in those parts. His grandfather reasoned it probably had appeared due to the time of day, evening. Cyrus had always been a quick learner. The bird pokémon was caught without much trouble or harm done to it. His grandfather praised him greatly for such a swift catch._
> 
> _Cyrus remembered the cold words that went between his parents and grandfather when he returned home. He ignored them this time too busy with his catch to care. Cyrus went to his room where he sat with his new companion. Once inside he started to research everything he could on murkrow out of his stash of books on pokémon._

Cyrus instinctively searched for his honchkrow’s poké ball. He took it out to stare at it as the wimpod crawled onto his lap for attention.

“I had forgotten about him. I had almost forgotten completely.”

Guilt twisted the inside of his chest. He felt Guzma wrap an arm around him.

“But you remembered, right? You’re doin’ pretty alright.”

Cyrus sighed and put the ball away. He gave the wimpod a few pets and let it pick at the soothe bell tied onto his wrist. It eventually was returned it to its poké ball. Cyrus and Guzma stared out at the ocean a minute longer before getting up and continuing on the way to the garden. The heat of the day was beginning to get to them both.

As they entered Malie Garden Cyrus surveyed its landscape. The architecture definitely matched with the rest of the city. There was a tower in the far corner, and in the center seemed to be a shop of some kind. Guzma mentioned it sold tea. Cyrus wanted to head there first if they could cross the central bridge. A group of tourists proceeded to block the way.

Wanting to find another way around, Cyrus led the way to explore either side of the garden. The ponds coinciding with the land made for a peaceful atmosphere. Cyrus could sense it in the slow way people walked about. They had a sense of reverence about them and not many raised their voices unless they happened to be children. Despite the search there seemed to be tourists everywhere.

The two of them passed back by the central bridge. At the same time, the crowd of tourists that had lingered dispersed at once. There was no avoiding them, and they had to separate to avoid being knocked into. Cyrus didn’t have a quick enough reaction to grab onto Guzma. He ended up swept onto the bridge by the tide. Cyrus decided to wait. It would be better than wondering around separated.

Cyrus moved himself closer to the railing in order to stand out. He stared down at the clear blue water where pokémon swam. Everything felt so tranquil about today in this garden; it was surreal. His ears twitched at the sound of Guzma’s voice coming towards him.

“Kid.”

“Guzma, where have you been? Y’know, I kept going up to the Pokémon League waiting for you! I even visited Route Thirteen a few times! I’ve just been wandering around Ultra Space to pass time-“

“ _-Kid._ ”

Cyrus turned and caught Guzma’s eye. He removed the sunglasses to get a better look at the child walking next to Guzma. The child had red hair, probably dyed, wore a Skull cap and a Team Skull tank top. She sported knee socks decorated with vivid red flowers along with red patterned shoes. It seemed clear she wouldn’t notice him until Guzma stopped or caught her attention.

“-And I almost went to Po Town to check on you, but, I got distracted, like I usually do, but Guz what’s been up? Why haven’t I seen you?”

The sight of Cyrus caught her attention as she swiveled her head back around. When she saw him she stopped dead in her tracks. Guzma took another step towards Cyrus before stopping somewhat between them. The way she looked at Cyrus didn’t appear to be simple confusion. It was more like recognition which shouldn’t have been possible.

Her expression changed from surprised to on guard.

“Calm down, kid. This ain’t like what happened at Aether.”

Guzma shifted where he stood to stand better between them. Cyrus kept his eyes on the child while Guzma spoke.

“Cyrus, this is Alola’s first champion, Moon.”

Moon didn’t look older than fourteen. Yet, she studied him quietly with a strange intelligence. Moon crossed her arms after a few seconds.

“I knew I recognized you. You’re that Team Galactic leader. What are you doing here? Did Colress mess up?”

Cyrus initially had been curious, but the comment made him at a loss for what she could be referencing. Guzma quickly tried to explain.

“No, no, kid, this ain’t _that_ Cyrus.”

Moon crinkled her face as she tried to comprehend what he said.

“So he’s not from, uh, what did Colress say, from another timeline?”

“Yeah, that’s it. He’s ours.”

“Ours? As in our timeline kinda deal?”

Her eyes examined him with renewed interest. The battle ready nature from earlier dissolved into what he guessed to be plain curiosity. Moon must have trusted Guzma’s judgement. It was strange to see someone without a direct connection to Team Skull show such trust.

“What’s he doing here, anyway?”

“That’s a uh long story. He’s my boyfriend, now, anyways.”

It took Moon a second to process what was said. Then she started to grin and animatedly look at them in turn. Cyrus could tell Guzma regretted relaying the information by the way he changed his stance.

“Okay, so, back to that long story-“

“You have a _boyfriend!_ And you didn’t think to tell me!”

Cyrus winced at the way Moon’s voice jumped up a few octaves. He told himself it was due to both the fact she was young and excited. Moon approached him to stare up at him with intense gray colored eyes. Were those cosmetic as well?

“I never would have expected someone like this!” Moon turned her gaze to Guzma who was looking for a chance to intervene somehow. “Were you listening back then when I told you about him?”

“Uhh, I was. But, it’s been a while. Lot’s happened.”

Moon crossed her arms again and shook her head.

“He was different from all the other bosses I fought. Easily the most chill.”

Cyrus wondered again as to what context this was in. He had never been in Alola before coming here from the Distortion World. Then Moon had mentioned something about timelines. Since when were alternate timelines a thing?

“Not to mention he acted weird about Rotomdex.”

“A Rotomdex?” He ventured to ask.

Moon turned back towards him and grinned again.

“Yeah, but I think I’ll show you after I get you guys something to drink. You’re probably not used to all this humidity, huh? I certainly wasn’t.”

Cyrus watched Guzma stand up a bit straighter than usual.

“I can pay for my own stuff, kid.”

“Well, _I’m_ the champion, and _you’re_ gonna have to challenge _me_ before you think you can stop me.”

Moon sauntered off in the direction of the tea shop. Guzma watched her go and sighed heavily letting his shoulders slump. Cyrus took stepped towards him until they were side by side. As they walked he threaded their fingers together. The initial rush of new information slowed down and Cyrus could think of something to say.

“She’s quite tenacious.”

“Yeah, you can see how she wore me down. Kid never gives up on anythin’.”

Guzma started leading them over the bridge towards the tea shop where there were benches they could sit at.

“That’s not so bad I suppose,” Cyrus added.

They sat where they would be shaded by the tea shop. Moon found them and walked over holding two drinks. A tall black and red striped catlike pokémon followed behind her to carry the last. The drink was held a bit awkward between its clawed hands. Moon spoke when she noticed Cyrus’s stare.

“This is my incineroar, Nacho. He’s a fire-dark type, just so ya know.”

Moon handed him a clear cup that contained a milky brown colored tea. Guzma was given a tea which was a bright green. Making contact with the cup, Cyrus became surprised at how cold the cup was. He adjusted his grip a few times before taking a sip. The taste made him draw back at how sweet it tasted.

“How’d you know to get me this?”

Guzma asked about his as Moon sipped from hers. The incineroar, Nacho, stood at her side watching and regarding Cyrus warily. If he remembered correctly, incineroars were native to Alola and rare.

“I just picked out something a bug pokémon would like. Turned out to be green apple!”

“Oh, wow, kid, you’re _hilarious._ ”

Moon laughed and took another sip from her drink. Cyrus had to admit, after getting used to the sweetness, the tea’s flavor was remarkable.

“What was that earlier? About you recognizing me?” He asked suddenly.

“Oh, um.” Moon listed to one side as she thought of a response. “Well, there was this guy, Giovanni. He somehow managed to open this, like, wormhole thing in Alola. Wanted to do something with this Rainbow Rocket whatever. But before that he got a whole bunch of other bosses from around the world, but from other timelines. Y’see, in those timelines, they didn’t have anyone to stop them. They just barely made it to getting whatever they wanted.

“Then Giovanni came along and took them here. He wanted the baddest guys backing him while he took over Alola! But I went in there and beat ‘em all. _Of course_ , Guzma was there watching my back.”

Moon flashed Guzma with a smile which he rolled his eyes at. Cyrus pondered the idea of having been successful. If he had done everything without that child in the way. Thinking back to those incidents, Cyrus could barely remember the child’s face.

“That’s just the short version though.” Moon stopped as her shoulder bag rustled. “Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, the rotomdex. Here we go.”

She unzipped it and out flew what appeared to be a rotom. An unsettling swarm of emotions welled up inside Cyrus’s chest at the sight. He caught himself managing to watch it in silence. It buzzed and beeped as it become aware of its surroundings.

“What’z going on-zzrt? Isn’t that one of the bozzes-zzrt?”

The rotomdex floated backwards to hover over Moon’s shoulder. Its display screen showed a cautionary expression. She grinned at it and gave it a pat.

“Don’t worry, he’s not a boss anymore. Right?”

Cyrus made himself respond even though he wanted to stare at the rotomdex in silence a bit longer.

“Correct. Here in Alola I’m just.” He wanted to hesitate but he pushed through it. “Cyrus.”

“See?”

Rotomdex beeped in response. It was out of the ordinary to see it emote the way it did by use of simple expressions.

“This is a pokédex infused with a rotom. It can also do all sorts of fun stuff like record battle videos, pictures, and-“

Moon went on to give them both a full run down on what rotomdex’s functions were. Cyrus remained quiet to humor her enthusiasm about the device. In the back of his mind, he wondered again about his alternate history; a world where he had successfully bound Dialga and Palkia with the red chains. A world where Giratina didn’t appear to disturb the process. Cyrus stirred out of his thoughts by a sudden weight on his right shoulder.

Guzma had decided to lean on him. He looked absolutely bored and miserable not that Moon had noticed. Nacho had decided to sit on Cyrus’s left side to partake in the shade while Moon demonstrated. For some odd reason he felt responsible for ending this.

“Moon, if you would please.” His tone caught her attention. Cyrus softened it as he went along, “Does your rotomdex perchance have any footage of that other me?”

He felt Guzma lean off of his shoulder in silent surprise. Moon rubbed her chin and posed the question to the rotomdex. It beeped a few times before its display screen flickered.

Cyrus widened his eyes when he saw himself there. He stood in the center of a red and black room wearing his old Team Galactic uniform. The expression on his other self’s face was cold.

“ _...Why are you able to create such strong bonds with your pokémon? And how are you able to turn those bonds into strength?_ ”

They were discussing Z-Power. Cyrus recognized the question from what small research he had put into the subject. It felt alien to watch himself say and do things he had never done before. Rotomdex’s recorded voice buzzed over the speaker.

“ _Becauzzze Moon is kind and compassionate towardzz all pokémon!_ ”

His other self looked down in contemplation. Cyrus recognized regret in his own face. It disappeared into a mask of calm.

“ _...I see. ...You need not worry, Rotom. I will not do anything to this world. I believe I shall return to the perfect world I created. But before that...take this key._ ”

The footage ended and Cyrus stared down at his mostly empty plastic cup. How very lucky he had been to not end up staying the same. He had so much to be grateful for.

“Hey, you alright?”

Cyrus looked at Guzma with a small smile.

“I’m fine. I’m lucky to have met you is all.”

“Ah, _geez._ ” A faint blush started to appear on Guzma’s face.

Moon tucked the rotomdex back into her shoulder bag. Nacho rose from where he had been sitting and growled.

“Almost done, boy,” she turned her attention back to them, “say, would you be interested in seeing an Ultra Wormhole?”

“Why would we wanna see that?”

Moon put her hands on her hips to frown at Guzma.

“So you can see what I’ve been doing this whole time.”

Guzma continued to not look persuaded.

“What is an Ultra Wormhole?” Cyrus felt obliged to ask.

Moon all to happily provided an answer.

“It leads to Ultra Space. It’s a completely different space that sort of exists beside ours. Far as I’ve been able to figure out, it’s kind of a patchwork of places. It has some native pokémon, and then it has pokémon from our world that ended up there somehow. I think you’d like to see it!”

Cyrus contemplated the offer. He glanced at Guzma whose facial expression didn’t change. His gray eyes had taken on a more steeled appearance which replaced the warmth that was usually there. Cyrus suspected Guzma was hiding something, a connection to Ultra Space. He more than likely wouldn’t discuss it in front of Moon. Guzma would require a push.

“Why do you think that?”

Cyrus turned his attention back to the conversation.

“Well, you, or other you, talked about a perfect world so much maybe seeing a different one would be nice!”

Moon flashed him a smile. It was an innocent proposition that reflected she didn’t know the true depth of what his past self had meant. It managed to amuse Cyrus a little. A small smile spread across his face.

“Yes, I do believe I would like to see this Ultra Wormhole.”

“Alright! We’ll have to fly outta here somewhere else. Follow me!”

She put Nacho back into its poké ball and started off towards a corner of the garden. Cyrus stood up to follow when Guzma hesitated at his side. He turned his head and addressed Guzma.

“Is something the matter?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Guzma’s sharp response had a quality to it that alerted Cyrus. “Right now I wanna see how the Champ’s gonna get three people to fly over to Poni Island.”

Moon stood in a secluded corner of the garden. She held up a small device that flashed, and from the sky a charizard wearing riding gear flew down.

“How ya doin’ this?” Guzma asked and gestured to himself and Cyrus.

She laughed and pulled out a quick ball from one of her pants pockets. When she tossed it a large lion-like pokémon appeared on the grass next to the charizard. It gave a singular roar to announce its presence. The pokémon stared at the group. Cyrus took a second to marvel at its metallic body and strange eyes.

“ _Kid, ya just! Do ya carry that thing around like that?_ ”

“Calm down, Guz, it’s _just_ Solgaleo.”

Guzma had jumped at the sight of the legendary pokémon. The fact that it was the legendary pokémon of the region sunk into Cyrus’s mind. It would figure the champion had managed to do something so extraordinary.

“I’m gonna ride the charizard with Cyrus.” Moon talked over Guzma’s attempt at an interruption. “ _You’re_ a bit too tall to ride with me on the charizard so you’re going with Solgaleo.”

Guzma frowned but couldn’t argue with her logic. After they all were situated on their pokémon they took off into the air. Cyrus had not flown on a pokémon in quite some time and had to brace himself. On the one hand, it was amazing to see Alola from the sky. On the other, he felt his entire body tense for the whole flight.

The flight to Poni Island didn’t take long. They touched down on a raised plateau of stonework on top of a rocky outcrop. It almost reminded Cyrus of Spear Pillar if not for the unique sun iconography.

“Over there. You see it?”

Moon spoke after they had all dismounted and the charizard was dismissed. She pointed over towards the center and in midair a crack of light floated. It glowed in a different way than the portals Cyrus had seen that opened between this world and the Distortion World.

“I’m gonna have to go in alone the first time, though. I need to borrow a suit for Cyrus.”

“A suit?”

When he asked Moon reached into her shoulder bag to pull out a tightly wrapped up bundle of clothing. She explained it was in order to protect her during the journey through the Wormhole. After it was put on over her clothing Moon climbed atop Solgaleo.

The Wormhole opened wider as it sensed Solgaleo’s presence. In a flash of light they disappeared to a place unknown. Cyrus watched the Wormhole contract down to its regular size and heard Guzma walk over to his side.

“Are ya sure about this?”

“What are you hiding from me, Guzma?”

His pointed question made Guzma take a step back. Cyrus chided himself for being too blunt.

“I apologize, I’m just-“

“-No, no, it’s fine.”

Guzma retraced his steps to take one of his hands. On Cyrus’s wrist the soothe bell rattled in the beats of silence between them. Cyrus watched waiting for Guzma to continue.

“It just involves Madam Prez is all. I went with her into one of those and got beat real bad. The next thing I knew I was fallin’ out of sky here and that pokémon followed us. Necrozma. We thought we could protect Alola, but we almost ruined it,” Guzma explained without looking Cyrus in the face.

Cyrus took back his hand and reached up with both to cup Guzma’s face. It made their gazes meet.

“Nothing dangerous will happen to me in there.”

“I wanna go with you, but I can’t make myself do it.”

“I’ll be fine. The champion is with me.”

Guzma’s face remained clouded with worry. Cyrus pulled him down into a kiss. The worry in his face dissipated a little afterwards.

“I won’t disappear, I promise,” Cyrus whispered. Guzma breathed a sigh and straightened back up. As he did so Moon returned through the Wormhole.

 

Guzma crossed his arms as he watched Cyrus get ready. He still felt uneasy about the entire thing, but he couldn’t argue anymore. Not against Cyrus, something about him made the fight Guzma usually had in him to argue disappear. It was aggravating because he couldn’t stop anything from happening in the usual way he stopped them. His hotheaded fire would just snuff out.

Cyrus looked over at him once before putting on the helmet. He looked calm for someone who was about to go through a ride in Ultra Space.

“We’ll be back soon, Guz, so wait for us!”

Moon called out from Solgaleo’s back. Cyrus situated himself behind her. Solgaleo roared made a leap towards the Wormhole effortlessly disappearing.

Guzma sighed and sat down on the warm surface of the plateau. They should have been eating lunch by now not taking dangerous rides from legendary pokémon. How’d he let this get so off track? What kind of boyfriend was he, really? He stopped berating himself long enough to take a look around.

Despite the bad memories here it was a sight. Guzma could see the Vast Poni Canyon and a little of Poni island beyond it. A breeze blew by keeping him from overheating in the stark sunlight. This is where he had decided to make a change for himself. To drop the past like he had been dropped from the sky; to try and start anew for himself, for his team, and for Alola. Felt weird to be back. He lingered on the memory until he heard the Wormhole begin to open up.

Guzma got back up in time to see Solgaleo leap in a flash of light. It landed and turned back around after a few steps to face the Wormhole. Moon took off her helmet and Cyrus repeated the action. She shouted in Guzma’s direction.

“Guzma! There’s something following us!”

“ _What?_ ”

He reached into a pants pocket and grabbed a poké ball. As he did the Wormhole expanded wider allowing six black scraggly legs to emerge. They clutched at the edges of the Wormhole with red claws and worked to heave its body out.

Guzma felt a familiar pressure pierce the atmosphere of the Altar of the Sunne. That wasn’t a regular pokémon. He couldn’t make himself throw the poké ball.

Cyrus distracted him by climbing off the back of Solgaleo. He shed the special suit and stared in the direction of the Wormhole. The expression on his face made Guzma’s insides freeze. Then movement from the Wormhole distracted him again.

The pokémon emerged from it and underwent a change. The six legs from its back morphed to become black wings; its serpentine body grew stout legs; the face opened to reveal a mouth. It screeched as it landed outside of the Wormhole which shrank down to close.

“Giratina,” muttered Cyrus loud enough for them to hear.

“Giratina? Is that this pokémon?” Moon asked still adjacent to Cyrus. He managed to nod.

Giratina busied itself observing what it could see from the Altar of the Sunne. Guzma imagined it would see a lot being tall as it was.

“What _happened?_ ” He asked in their direction.

Moon explained quick as she could.

“We were on our way back. Then Giratina appeared out of a Wormhole and started following us! I tried to shake it but nothing worked. I didn’t know a pokémon could even do that!”

“More importantly…what does it want?”

Cyrus’s question made them all return their attention to Giratina. Its chest rumbled with a sound close to thunder as it moved its attention from Vast Poni Canyon. It surveyed them all with its large glowing eyes. Guzma noticed the way its red eyes pierced through him. It reminded him of how Cyrus’s eyes looked when they first met.

Giratina opened its mouth and uttered a low rumble. Solgaleo growled in response pawing the ground to urge Moon off of his back. She did so and Solgaleo pressed his forehead against her hand. Confused, Moon placed it there and jolted a little.

“It’s telepathy.”

“Yeah, that’s great, really great then, what’s it _saying?_ ”

Guzma could feel himself becoming more agitated that he couldn’t make a move. Again, he could feel something happening outside of his control again. Giratina rumbled a second time.

“ _I have been…in that place for too long…_ ”

The way Moon spoke sent a shudder up both Guzma and Cyrus’s spines. For a voice so young it managed to deepen its timbre. She seemed to fall into a trance as she acted as the telepathic translator.

“ _From there I saw doors…windows into other times…all of my home region like torment…I came to know every beginning and end…_ ”

Giratina took a few titan steps forward. It shook the ground of the Altar and jarred Guzma’s feet to where he had to catch himself from falling. He noticed how Giratina trained its attention onto Cyrus.

“ _I recognized him from my windows…the one who always acted as…the seed of destruction for every window of time….I followed. I am here. Yet._

“ _I have no place here…there is already myself…I shall go but I must take the seed. For myself._ ”

Guzma felt his gaze drag over towards Cyrus. Cyrus’s shoulders had become rigid. He hid his face from view because he stared at the ground. Guzma darted a glance at Moon as she moved away from Solgaleo and came out of her trance. She looked from Giratina to Cyrus to Guzma. Her face looked as shaken as he felt on the inside.

“Cyrus.”

His shoulders jumped a little at hearing his name. Then they relaxed as Cyrus turned around to face him. Guzma didn’t like the dull mask on his face.

“He only wants me, Guzma.”

“No, you’re not. You’re not _doing this,_ are you?”

Fear clenched at his insides. Cyrus stared back at him, but he could see that his calm demeanor broke around the edges.

“I don’t want to put you, or Alola, in danger because of me. You talked of that pokémon Necrozma. I can imagine Giratina having the same devastating power, easily.”

Cyrus looked back at Giratina who watched and hissed. It arched its inky wings to display impatience.

“You can’t just _go._ You only. You _only_ got here, I _can’t._ Do this.”

Guzma could feel his insides, himself, squeezing into a tight ball. It hurt and the splinters which started inwards worked their way out of his chest to the rest of him. He hated doing this in front of some kid. In front of some legendary thing. He hated falling apart.

Cyrus walked over towards him. Guzma shifted backwards as he saw the edges of his vision becoming misty. He didn’t want to be touched, to try to be reassured, when he would just break at the simplest touch. Cyrus didn’t reach for him when he stopped walking. Giratina hissed again took another titan step forwards as if it could hurry things along.

“I love you.”

“ _No,_ you’re not saying that to me, as you’re leaving, with this-“

“-Guzma.”

“No, I can’t just, _I can’t just_ fall apart, _again_. You only just got here, and _I love you,_ but you’re going to _leave me?_ ”

Guzma hadn’t been able to keep his face together. Tears fell and he had to avoid looking Cyrus in the face. He should have thrown a poké ball or started to fight Giratina or anything but stand there. As his eyes were beginning to sting harsh and hot he felt hands creeping up his neck.

He involuntarily jerked but allowed the hands to settle at the sides of his face. At this point, Guzma screwed his eyes shut. His chest ached with that shattered sensation of loss. He felt himself being led into leaning down. Fingers brushed at the tears crisscrossing his cheeks. Guzma felt one of his legs twitch. He kept himself upright.

“I’m so sorry, Guzma.”

“ _Don’t._ ”

“I don’t want to leave. You’re my heart, my everything, I want to protect it. I have to go.”

He felt Cyrus’s fingers press into his face. Guzma opened his eyes to see through their watery vision. Cyrus had also started crying. He stared trying to search for something there in his sad blue eyes. Guzma wasn’t sure what or why he tried. He just hurt.

Cyrus cleared his throat enough to speak up again.

“I don’t want you hurt. I’m going to prevent that.” The forced mask of calm broke and Cyrus’s face softened. “I love you.”

Guzma blinked and gave a shuddering sigh. He couldn’t make himself argue anymore, he could barely find anything to say. Cyrus wiped at both their tears and kissed him. He drew it out as long as they could stand their breath cut short after crying.

Cyrus slipped something into his hands, pulled away, and slowly started to walk towards Giratina. Guzma couldn’t find his voice to say any last words. He allowed his knees to crumple onto the Altar. When Guzma looked down he found in his hands the sunglasses Cyrus had borrowed.

Guzma didn’t want to watch yet he did. He blinked through tears and went to watch Cyrus walk towards Giratina. His hands began to tightened up. They shook hard enough to twist the metal sunglasses breaking them by the middle. It was a simple defiant act. Guzma couldn’t do much more.

Movement from his left distracted him. Guzma saw that Moon had, at some point, sat on the ground. Her face was hidden partially by the Skull cap she wore being pulled down. Solgaleo stood at her side between her and Giratina. He had lowered his maned head to allow Moon to grab onto the side of his face for support.

Cyrus had stopped directly in front of Giratina by then. They all waited for it to make a move of some sort. It let out a screech, and in reaction Solgaleo perked up to nudge Moon’s hand again. She rubbed at her face before placing a hand on his forehead.

“ _How curious….I have never seen such emotion before from you….has this region caused this change? Did he?_ ”

Giratina arched backwards and its wings took on a different, drippier, shadow look.

“ _I have been apart from the Original One’s world for so long….I think I shall stay and see._ ”

Solgaleo moved away from Moon as Giratina’s entire body took on the shadowy change. Guzma’s breath stopped as where Cyrus stood became shrouded in shadows. Solgaleo charged forwards preparing for what looked like a zen headbutt. Out of the shadows giant claws batted his attempt away. The attack dealt heavy damage judging by how Solgaleo sagged to the ground. He forced his legs to stand. The pokémon snarled but couldn’t step forwards.

Guzma caught his breath and made himself stand up as well. He scrubbed at his face to dry it. Something had changed something about this had gone sideways.

The shadows vanished. Cyrus had fallen to his knees.

“Cyrus!”

Guzma dropped the ruined sunglasses, ran over, and knelt in front of him. Cyrus appeared to have fainted or close to it.

“Cyrus? Babe? Baby, baby please.”

He checked Cyrus over but there were no signs of injury. Guzma took Cyrus’s face into his hands and whispered.

“Speak to me, Cyrus.”

Cyrus’s body shifted once and his eyes snapped open. Guzma froze for the eyes had changed in color. The irises were red and the sclera black. In fact, some of the blackness appeared to leak out of his eyes. They formed thin, uniform lines underneath each of his eyes. They were Giratina’s eyes Guzma realized. The facial expression was emotionless.

Cyrus moved back out of his hands and went to stand. He took a moment to do so not used to two legs. Cyrus studied his arms and surveyed the Altar. Guzma dropped his hands to ball them into fists.

“I always wondered what Arceus saw in these human forms. Always so frail, I can barely exert my influence over it,” said Cyrus.

“So, it is you.”

The eyes trained on him. With Cyrus framed against the sky Guzma thought he saw scraggly black wings out of his back. When he blinked they were gone.

“I am here. I see that fire in your eyes- I suggest you extinguish it.”

“What? I’m just surprised there’s someone wordier than my boyfriend talking to me.”

Cyrus shook his head. The mouth twisted into a smug grin.

“You cannot beat me. Even if I gave you the chance you could not do it. The only two that could, that you even have a chance with, are my brethren Dialga and Palkia. They are not here, and they will not sense me, not even Dialga in all its time-telling.”

He turned and began to walk to the staircase of the Altar.

Guzma got to his feet and glanced at Moon. She had cleaned her face staring at Cyrus with a determined expression.

“Ya do know about champions, right?”

Cyrus stood before the edge of the descending staircase. He spoke without turning around.

“I do now. The strongest trainers of pokémon in a region.” Cyrus paused and clasped hands behind his back. “Arceus created the world and left humans and pokémon to flourish in it. I want to see what has become of them with my own eyes. Not rely on those windows that strange space made for me. I could do that in the Distortion World but that place was so different.”

He stopped talking abruptly. Guzma walked halfway to where Cyrus stood.

“I don’t care about what you want. Where’s Cyrus?”

Cyrus tilted his head and turned part of the way around. The smug grin had vanished for a colder expression.

“I cannot inhabit a body without the original host. He is here, watching and listening.” His eyes narrowed for a few seconds, darted to the ground, and returned. “If you are done I am going to leave off of this island.”

Guzma watched as he started down the steps. He heard him stop after a few steps. At least it was smart enough to not leave him behind. Giratina didn’t exactly know its way around Alola like Guzma did. It was probably too proud to ask him for directions.

Moon replaced Solgaleo into its quick ball and came over towards him. She looked fit to start crying again.

“Guzma, I’m sorry, this is all my fault.”

“No, it’s not, kid.”

“I was just trying, trying to be like a kahuna, ‘cause I’m the champion- I feel. I feel responsible for this and I’m _sorry,_ ” Moon finished the sentence when she sucked up what tears were trying to come out.

“Be like a kahuna?”

Moon stared up at him her eyes still wet.

“When you’re the kahuna everyone’s problems are yours. I felt like, like the champion should be like that. But for all of Alola. And I did that when I beat Rainbow Rocket, but now I caused a problem for you. I should have just left you two alone on your date!”

Guzma gave her a solid pat on the head. In the past he would have been resentful and angrier than he felt right then. There were bigger things to worry about though, like how far down the staircase the possessed Cyrus had gotten.

“You know more weird people than I do. I mean, ya got connections where I don’t. You can go out there and start askin’ around for help. Imma try to keep this guy in Po Town ‘long as I can. Alright?”

Moon looked up at him and got a hopeful gleam in her eyes. She smiled, nodded, and stepped away to summon a charizard. Guzma watched her go then glanced down. His ruined sunglasses were near his feet.

He hesitated before bending down to pick them up. Guzma shook off any stray shards of glass. After he pocketed the remains he carried on to the edge of the Altar. Walking down the staircase he could see Cyrus had gotten halfway to the bottom.

Guzma settled into following him with a glare on his face. Cyrus said nothing as Giratina became busy observing Vast Poni Canyon’s interior. When wild pokémon would begin to approach them he turned sharply at them and glared. The pressure was enough to scare them off. Guzma thanked the Tapu that no trainers were on the canyon trail.

At some point inside of a cavern Cyrus stopped to look at him. It was the first time he had done so since they walked down from the Altar of the Sunne.

“How large is this island?”

His patience about all the walking had finally broken. Guzma kept himself from appearing smug. He slouched and spoke casually.

“It’s a small island, but there’s only, like, one village on it.”

“One?”

Guzma decided to not mention the Battle Tree on the other side of the island. It had a lot of trainers, and they didn’t need that problem right now. He needed to steer Giratina towards Malie City so they could get on the speedboat back to Po Town. Soon as possible.

“Traversing this terrain will take far too long.”

Cyrus closed his eyes. An aura started to envelope him darker than the cavern shadows. Guzma became concerned especially when the black wings reappeared on his back.

“ _Hey,_ what are you doing?”

He didn’t get an answer. Cyrus took a step towards, grabbed him by the wrist, and pulled him to the side. The reality there shattered like glass followed by the same sound. They both fell through the break. Guzma’s senses were muffled as the cavern turned to darkness. He could faintly hear a tinkling sound as of metal hitting itself, but he couldn’t be sure. The darkness threatened to obscure his vision. He strained to see nothing at all not even the hand that held him.

There was another splintering shatter in reality. They fell through space again. Guzma felt himself struggle to find balance. When he planted his feet on solid ground he saw they were standing outside of Seafolk Village. The aura around Cyrus had vanished, and he was swaying from left to right.

Guzma caught him in time to lean him upright. He had an idea.

“I dunno what that was-“

“-Shadow force,” Cyrus muttered not lucid yet from the trip.

“Yeah, yeah, but you can’t just go walking into a place with a bunch of people with eyes like that. Let. Let Cyrus take the wheel, or whatever, yeah?”

His idea was met with silence. Then Cyrus’s body slumped more to one side and Guzma quickly caught him. When his eyes reopened they were back to their regular blue.

“Guzma?”

“I’m here, babe, it’s me.”

Cyrus took in the sight of him. He almost immediately put his arms around Guzma’s neck. Cyrus buried his face into the crook of Guzma’s neck. Guzma felt his heart squeeze. It ached a little from what could have happened earlier.

“You okay?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry for doing that, for even thinking it.”

“Whoa, slow down.”

Guzma wrapped his arms around Cyrus’s middle. He felt breath against his neck.

“I never thought not being able to touch you or speak to you would be so frightening. And Giratina knew, it was watching me watching you. It was. Unpleasant.”

Cyrus squeezed his neck a little tighter. Guzma decided to move one of his hands to where it would rest on the back of Cyrus’s head.

“We can talk more about this later. We’re gonna go back to Malie City, and then home.” He craned his neck to where he could see part of Cyrus’s face. “You’re gonna need lunch before we go, you look wiped out.”

Cyrus didn’t respond. Guzma let him hang there for a while longer then whispered that they should go. They walked together into Seafolk Village and found the Floating Restaurant. After eating their food Guzma led him to the ferry boat that would take them back to Ula’Ula.

On the ride over they both clustered together near the railing to keep away from other passengers. Any other time Guzma would have enjoyed it, but he didn’t like the circumstances. Even after eating, Cyrus didn’t look much better. There was a worn out look to his face. Guzma guessed it was in part because they both had to eat through the nervous tension in their stomachs. It sort of turned the food into internalized sludge.

They arrived back at the shoreline of Route Sixteen near sunset. As Guzma moored the boat back to its secret inlet he noticed Giratina had taken charge again. It was observing the orange sunset with great interest. Guzma sighed irritated that it could just do that, but he would have to learn to make conversation for as long as it stuck around.

“I never explored the ocean much before my banishment.”

Giratina surprised him by speaking first. Then it kept on speaking and Guzma’s feeling faded back to irritation.

“I had only explored enough to become familiar with the first primal water pokémon.”

“Couldn’t tell ya if anything’s changed. Not a water type trainer.”

Guzma walked away from the boat to lead the way up from the shore. Giratina followed, and he noticed it seemed to be observing him through Cyrus’s eyes. That’s right, this wasn’t Cyrus walking with him. Not so long as those red and black eyes were there.

“You know I can see you starin’ at me, right?”

“There are a lot of memories with you here.”

The statement made Guzma stop. They were in the middle of Ula’Ula Meadow. Giratina stopped at his side abrupt as he had stopped.

“What does that even mean?”

Giratina’s expression changed into one he had a hard time discerning. Part of the face curled into a smirk, but the emotion did not carry to the eyes. It started to walk ahead of him and Guzma followed. He decided it had to be just doing that on purpose to mess with him. Just because it was old as the world and knew a lot didn’t mean it actually knew anything.

They walked into Route Seventeen to be met with the usual rainfall. Giratina stopped to observe the way it fell onto its borrowed hands. Guzma walked a few steps farther then crossed his arms to think.

He considered what was about to happen. They couldn’t exactly explain the situation right away to Plumeria. Cyrus needed to sleep. The grunts didn’t need to get involved. With a little arm twisting this might be able to stay between the three of them inside Shady House. Yeah, Nanu didn’t need to know either unless Moon wanted to ask him.

“And what are you being so thoughtful of?”

Giratina’s question jerked Guzma out of his thoughts. It had silently made its way to stand in front of him.

“Ground rules. Yeah, ground rules.”

Watching Giratina tilt Cyrus’s head the way it did was very awkward.

“Like back at Seafolk Village. Any time we’re in places with lotsa people ya can’t go around lookin’ like that. And this’ll also count in our bedroom. Private stuff. And don’t go wanderin’ off with Cyrus out of Po Town because you’re bored- not without me walkin’ there with you. You don’t talk to anyone, either.”

Giratina righted Cyrus’s head. Guzma paused because of it. The expression in its face was blank as it took in the information.

“While I will not allow you to tell me what I can and cannot do, I do agree you make some sense. Remarkable.”

Guzma held up a finger but bit the words down on his tongue. Tapu help him this pokémon was infuriating to deal with. He put down his hand and sucked in his anger.

“So you can, uh, step out now. We’re pretty close to the gate and someone might see us. Just a suggestion,” Guzma said through gritted teeth.

Giratina allowed its eyes to close. Cyrus’s body swayed. Guzma caught him again and Cyrus reached for him with weak arms.

“I know it’s early,” Cyrus leaned onto Guzma’s chest, “but all I want to do is sleep.”

“Hey, you take a shower, I take a shower, we maybe eat a little, and you can sleep all you want.”

They walked through Po Town, into Shady House, and didn’t run into much trouble. Explaining that Cyrus was tired didn’t set off Plumeria’s alarm bells. It all went by smoothly, Guzma would think. They changed into clothes to sleep in. Or, they mostly did, Guzma realized he didn’t have a clean shirt or tank top to sleep in so he went bare-chested.

As Cyrus made himself comfortable on the bed Guzma turned all the bedroom’s lights off. He returned to the bed and situated himself next to Cyrus who faced him with his eyes already closed. Guzma waited a few seconds then decided to start it off.

“You wanna talk about it?”

Cyrus breathed out in a sigh. He reopened his eyes to peer at Guzma across the dim light of the windowless room.

“As I mentioned before it’s always there. The things between us now. I noticed though, it seems everything works both ways between us- right now it’s seeing and hearing but cannot act. In addition, Giratina knows what I know. We even share memories, but I cannot.” Cyrus shifted on the bed closer to Guzma. “I cannot grasp its memories or knowledge. Not unless it’s recent. It’s too vast, too deep. Does any of that make sense?”

Guzma ran a hand down Cyrus’s arm. He took a light hold on one of his hands.

“It does if you say it do.”

A smile curved onto Cyrus’s face. He moved himself closer and curled to where his head would rest above Guzma’s on the pillows.

“You’re too kind to me, dearest.”

“Nah, it’s what I do. I love you,” Guzma replied.

A big grin covered his face whenever he heard Cyrus call him that cheesy pet name. What a walking cliché this guy.

“I love you, too.”

Guzma made himself cozy and stayed awake to make sure Cyrus fell asleep. Then he stayed up longer with worry. What exactly did being possessed entail? How long until Moon found something? And how in Tapu Koko’s name would he tell Plumeria _this_ happened? At the end of it, he just hoped Giratina wouldn’t steer Cyrus’s body into harm’s way. Guzma hoped Giratina would let them keep being together like this.

All he wanted was to be together.

 

When Guzma woke the next morning he stared up at Cyrus who slept. He took a second to have his usual moment of adoring silence. Afterwards he reached up to touch a few fingers to the side of Cyrus’s face.

“Hey,” Guzma mumbled. He rubbed a thumb idly across Cyrus’s cheek.

Cyrus started to stir and opened his eyes. The sudden red and black with the little markings down from his eyes startled Guzma for a few seconds. The memories of yesterday came back in a rush. He whipped back his hand as if burned.

“ _What_ did I _tell you_ about the _bedroom?_ ”

A smirk tugged on Giratina’s mouth. It stopped long enough to push itself upright enough to sit cross-legged on the bed. Guzma glared at it from where he had rolled over to brace himself up on his arms.

“So that includes upon waking as well? I wonder why Arceus left you humans and pokémon as imperfect as you are.”

“You sayin’ you don’t need sleep?”

“No. What even is the use of it?”

Guzma pushed himself up to sit where when he sat he would be taller than Giratina. It didn’t seem to care for his attempt at being more intimidating.

“Dreamin’s pretty nice. But, anyway.”

He made a shooing motion with his hand.

Giratina’s mouth tugged down into a displeased frown. Its eyes went cold but eventually the color faded to Cyrus’s regular blue. He rubbed the side of his head with the palm of his hand.

“I’m glad that out of everything emotions are not shared. I feel that would pose a huge problem.”

“I’m sorry babe.”

Cyrus held up a hand for a few seconds in a silent dismissal. He then used it to hold one of Guzma’s.

“You will have to take Giratina somewhere new. It will not be pleased with everywhere you’ve shown me so far, and it will not like being kept indoors where I have already been. I can tell you that much.”

Guzma looked away and thought for a few seconds. He perked back up.

“I can show it Route Thirteen. There’s some grunts there I’ve been meanin’ to visit, and since there’s people, you’ll have to be out. We can try an’ do it today unless you’re tired?”

Cyrus squeezed his hand and gave him a smile.

“I just need breakfast.”

Together they went downstairs to eat breakfast among some grunts. They were mainly busy talking about what else had to be done around Shady House. Afterwards, Cyrus changed out of his clothes into one of the starry t-shirts he had gotten from Malie City; it was white with black stars. He wore white shorts and shoes to go along with it.

Guzma wore a plain white tank top underneath his old Team Skull jacket. He rushed himself and picked out a clean pair of sweatpants so they could get going down to the speedboat. Before heading out the door his eyes caught a glimmer from inside the closet.

He searched for it managing to find the ruined pair of sunglasses. Figured he must have put them there last night and forgotten. Guzma thumbed the twisted metal and replaced it where it had been inside the closet. He reached inside a box on his side of the closet to retrieve out of it two things.

“About yesterday,” Cyrus began to speak when they met outside the room. Guzma stood a little straighter because of his solemn expression.

“About your sunglasses.”

“Oh. Hold up.” Guzma stopped him with a grin and reached into what he had inside his pockets.

He pulled out two pairs of sunglasses. They were modelled after the pair he wore when Team Skull was still together. He gave one pair to Cyrus sliding the other on over his eyes. Guzma pushed it up to rest on his forehead.

“Plumeria made me a bunch of extras ‘cause I kept breaking them. Back when we were establishin’ turf I’d just get so mad sometimes I would smash them in my hands. She just gave up and got me a bunch.”

While he explained Cyrus studied them. He put the sunglasses on as well. They walked together down to Route Sixteen. Both of them were quiet and Guzma accepted it. At least until they got to the speedboat.

Guzma had been in the middle of steering the boat out to sea. Then he noticed Cyrus examining a poké ball in a weird way. He tried to unscrew it or uncap it like he’d suddenly forgotten how poké balls worked. Guzma squinted and frowned.

“Giratina, that you?”

It looked over at him in the middle of its trouble with a static smile. Guzma figured he was lucky. He wouldn’t have to see the eyes trying to match up with such a weird facial expression.

“Ya hit the button and throw.” Might as well humor it.

Giratina looked back at the poké ball its smile fading. It started aiming the ball in a random direction over the side of the ship.

“ _At the deck you._ ”

Guzma bit his tongue to keep from saying more. It was too early in the day to be messing with this thing.

Giratina adjusted the trajectory and did as he said. Appearing on the deck was Cyrus’s weavile which rocked a bit on its feet. It took a moment to adjust to being on a boat. The weavile turned towards Cyrus with no intent of acting hostile.

Guzma watched as it stared at Cyrus for a few seconds. It raised its claws and snarled.

“Ha, it knows what’s up,” he commented with a smirk.

Guzma couldn’t lie he sort of liked the fact the weavile knew not to trust Giratina on sight. Giratina removed the sunglasses to reveal its red and black eyes. It squared its shoulders and glared down at the weavile. Most wild pokémon who had seen that glare yesterday ran.

The weavile remained in place battle ready. Maybe if he wasn’t steering a boat Guzma would have helped. The silent and intense staredown became gradually distracting. He did his best to ignore it and carefully pull up at an alcove near Ula’Ula Beach. Walking from Malie City to Route Thirteen would take too long.

This whole thing was also taking too long.

“You two can cut that out now, we’re here.”

Neither of them moved. Guzma rolled his eyes before pulling away from the steering wheel. What could he do about this?

“To put the pokémon back into its ball just lift it up and hit the button again.”

Giratina didn’t act like it heard him. Then slowly it lifted up the ball in its hand and did the return action. Weavile disappeared as did the tension.

“I thought you shared each other’s knowledge?”

Guzma asked the question as they both climbed down off of the speedboat. Giratina huffed and replaced the sunglasses onto its face.

“There are some things only a firsthand experience can explain.”

“Uh huh, you say that.”

They picked their way over the rocks onto the beach itself. There were a few fishermen nearby who were busy reeling in their lines. They would compare catches and release the pokémon to do it again. Giratina watched them until Guzma had made it halfway towards the beach entrance. He wanted to make the switchover happen fast.

When they exited, Guzma turned left and started off into the grass. Giratina kept pace although it paused every now and then to scare off a potential encounter. It stopped completely to stare at the small inn that was located on Route Thirteen. A child played with a rockruff on the wooden walkway.

Guzma opened his mouth to tell it to come on when Cyrus’s body did the familiar sway. He caught him by the shoulder in time to avoid a full on fall.

“I sorta wish we had a code word now that I’m thinkin’ about it.”

“I would love to if it had the patience to learn and accept such a concept,” said Cyrus.

He leaned heavily onto Guzma as he righted himself. Cyrus removed the sunglasses to rub at his eyes. Guzma didn’t like how every switchover so far seemed to take it out of him. There had to be a limit, right?

“You good?”

“I will be.”

Guzma took his hand and led him farther down Route Thirteen. The rocky walls opened up into a small circular area populated by white trailers. In the center was the oasis with its usual curious crowd. There were two other entrances, one that went to the Haina Desert, and one that led to Tapu Village.

Outside of one of the trailers a Team Skull dressed grunt squatted. Guzma noticed her head swivel over in their direction before she stood up.

“ _Hey guys!_ Guess who’s here?”

She called out in the direction of the two trailers behind her.

Grunts appeared out of the trailers as Guzma walked over. He let go of Cyrus’s hand to give a few handshakes and exchange greetings. When he introduced Cyrus the grunts reacted similarly to the first time back at Po Town. Meaning it embarrassed Cyrus to where he slipped the sunglasses back on to hide embarrassment. This had the opposite reaction he hoped for as the grunts cooed over the fact they had matching sunglasses.

“Hey, hey!” Guzma called out over the ruckus. “Anyone know if Skull Granny’s here?”

The group quieted down as one of them spoke up to answer.

“Yeah, she’s in her trailer like always, boss.”

“Thanks bro. C’mon Cy.”

Guzma motioned with his hand. They walked through the group of grunts Cyrus stepping close to his side. The group watched them go before turning back to talk among themselves. Cyrus seemed lost as to what they were doing.

“Are we here to see her in particular?”

“Not really, but every time I come by I make sure to say hi. She’s important to my homies. You’ll see why.”

Guzma was about to step onto the staircase to enter the trailer when Cyrus cut in front of him. It surprised him a little, but he let Cyrus take the first step inside and followed. A grunt stood near the door eyeing Cyrus suspiciously until Guzma stepped in. She quickly went back to standing in stoic silence.

In the corner of the trailer, seated at a worn out white leather booth, was Plumeria’s mother. Her hair the same short cropped natural white hair Guzma had seen last time. She wore a vibrant yellow dress that contrasted against her brown skin nicely.

Plumeria’s mother looked over at him with warm dark brown eyes; one time Guzma had asked whether yellow eyes actually ran in the family. She had laughed. _Promised to my baby girl I wouldn’t give up that secret just yet._

Her hand brushed against a mug on the counter in front of her as she gestured over to him.

“It’s been a while, Guzma, how ya been gettin’ along?”

He stepped forward and took the hand. She had a strong grip despite her age. That was one way she reminded him of his own mother.

“Somehow someway, Mama Plume. Po Town’s same as always. There’s someone here I’d like ya to meet.”

Guzma glanced to his left seeing Cyrus had already walked over to his side. Cyrus removed the sunglasses again and appeared only a little perturbed. The warm eyes shifted over to examine him. Her inviting smile never faded.

“This is my boyfriend, Cyrus.”

Her eyebrows shot up in delight.

“I thought I heard a ruckus outside. So that was all you, like always. I shoulda known.” She gave Cyrus another quick glance over then extended her hand towards him. “It’s nice to meet someone who can put this boy in his place.”

Guzma groaned as Cyrus took her hand and received the firm grip. Her eyes flickered to the worn out soothe bell on his wrist, but she didn’t seem curious.

“ _Why’s everybody gotta say that?”_

_“’Cause it’s true. You can be a handful you know.”_

_She took her hand back and looked at each of them._

_“How long ya stayin’?”_

_“I was thinkin’ probably through lunch.”_

_“You miss my cookin’ that much?” She asked with a wide grin._

_Guzma shook his head although a smile was already on his face._

_“You both cook good, why would I miss the chance?”_

_Plumeria’s mother laughed as she started to move out of the booth. Guzma reflexively held out his hand. She took it to steady herself. Cyrus seated himself at the table not knowing what else to do. In the quiet of the trailer Guzma could hear the faint rattle of the bell._

_“Let’s have some tea first before we get into all that.”_

_Guzma let go of her hand to watch her hobble over to the kitchen counter. He knew not to try and help her unless she asked. Guzma glanced back at the grunt near the door. The grunt periodically looked from her cellphone, to them, and to the door. She was always there but never said much._

_Soon they were all situated at the table again two new mugs steaming with tea._

_“So, Cyrus, which region do you come from? I figure you wouldn’t be from around here.”_

_“From Sinnoh far to the north.”_

_Plumeria’s mother took in the idea with a slow nod. Guzma understood the feeling, it happened every time he remembered just how far from home Cyrus was._

_“Sinnoh, hm. You here permanently?”_

_Cyrus paused as he lifted the mug up to his mouth._

_“I have no real reason to go back. Everything I would want is here.”_

_Guzma squeezed the mug between his hands. He held back the rising blush on his cheeks best as he could. Plumeria’s mother nodded again. She let out a sudden and loud laugh._

_“You sure landed a catch, Guzma! Boy, does he say things like that all the time?”_

_“ _Yes._ ”_

_“He’s cute, now don’t go mistreatin’ him, now, you hear me?”_

_At this point Guzma’s face burned hot as the tea inside his mug. He mumbled a reply and picked the mug up to take a sip. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Cyrus do the same in a similar shy manner._

_When her laughter died down Cyrus spoke up._

_“Would it be all right if I asked about your…leg?”_

_“Everybody new does. It was an arbok bite. Some sort of neural, no, nerve tissue damage, or somethin’, made me lose feelin’ in it. My girl Plumeria was there but too young to help much. Didn’t get to the Pokémon Center in time, but I did survive. That’s what matters I tell her.”_

_There was a pause as the story settled in. Guzma had heard it in detail before. Not from Plumeria, she refused to talk about it. The way he understood her feelings on it, it came from a place of pride. Wishing and wanting you could make up for a thing you couldn’t stop yourself. He knew all about how that felt._

_“My girl is holdin’ up over there isn’t she, Guzma?”_

_“Yeah, she’s still herself.”_

_“Mhm.”_

_The moment passed when Plumeria’s mother brightened up with a smile._

_“We been chattin’ here so long. Must be about lunchtime, right?”_

_Guzma got up and helped her get out of her seat again. Both he and Cyrus turned around to watch her work. She had a way of sifting around the trailer’s tiny kitchen that looked close to dancing. Even with her bum leg she didn’t let it hold her back from grace. It made Guzma miss being home to watch his own mother cook._

_She paused in her process which shook him from his thoughts of home._

_“Cyrus, would you come help me with this?”_

_Guzma looked over to see Cyrus widen his eyes a bit in surprise. Cyrus quickly got up and walked over asking what he could do. She guided his hands in what she wanted done. Before long he was added into the whole kitchen thing. The scene was so peaceful Guzma could almost forget yesterday._

_They ate and talked some more about the things back in Po Town. How the grunts had come back with new furniture. Plumeria’s mother told stories of how she’d had to take care of them all, and how they worked so hard to buy it with their own money. Pooled together it was theirs’ nonetheless._

_Guzma and Cyrus left the trailer in the afternoon. He guided them over towards Tapu Village while they held hands. Guzma noticed Cyrus had gone quiet when they left the trailer. He would have asked if Cyrus didn’t jerk his hand so suddenly._

_He was pulled behind a tree that grew near some bushes on the side of the road leading into the village. Guzma meant to ask if anything was wrong, but his concern stopped at seeing the look on Cyrus’s face. He felt fingers lace between the fingers on each of his hands._

_Guzma leaned down as if on instinct. They shared a prolonged kiss hidden in the shade of a palm tree. When they broke apart he was holding back a laugh. It must have caused a weird look on his face because Cyrus blushed and averted his gaze._

_“I apologize, I’ve just-“_

_“-No, no, it’s okay.”_

_Guzma was quick to reassure him, but Cyrus shook his head. Cyrus took back one of his hands and rubbed at his temple._

_“This entire time I’ve just felt so frustrated. I want to enjoy this time with you, I always want to, but now with Giratina it’s. Hard. It does commentary, it watches, and I just want some _peace and quiet_ with you.”_

_Guzma used his free hand to rub gently at the side of Cyrus’s face._

_“I’m sorry for all this, babe.”_

_Cyrus heaved a sigh and squeezed his held hand._

_“I haven’t felt like myself, and it hasn’t even been that long since this began. Not even a full day.”_

_“You’re gonna be okay, babe. We can get through this.”_

_He looked up at him with a smile. Guzma didn’t like the sad tinge to it._

_“You’re right.”_

_Guzma used one of his hands to brush against the soothe bell on Cyrus’s wrist to make it rattle. They remained close together until Guzma figured they should get going._

_“C’mon, there’s a beach I wanna show ya. It’s pretty.”_

_“Everything here is pretty, Guzma.”_

_He laughed while he led Cyrus out from behind the tree. They walked through Tapu Village down towards Route Fourteen. Guzma turned his head to watch as Cyrus studied the black sand. It covered the entire shoreline and pervaded into the water. There weren’t any trainers around, only two fishermen in the distance._

_Cyrus’s attention went from the sand to the ocean. He removed his shoes and socks to wade up to his ankles in the water. Guzma, a little surprised, took off his own. He rolled up his sweatpants to wade in next to Cyrus. The water was warm, and there was enough of a breeze to give him the taste of salt on his tongue._

_As the silence stretched on Guzma realized he was at risk of letting Giratina seize control._

_“Uh, Cy, I think.” Cyrus turned his head to look at him eyes normal. “Uh, well, there’s more to that Wormhole stuff than I said yesterday.”_

_Guzma darted his eyes away. He felt Cyrus take his hand. Guzma made himself face Cyrus even though inwardly he thought this was the worst way to go about it._

_“So, I liked Mad- I mean, Lusamine.”_

_“As Plumeria told me.”_

_“ _She told you?_ Anyway, anyway, I chased after her after she kinda let herself go into an Ultra Wormhole. Didn’t think about it, just didn’t wanna lose her. I dunno where we ended up. It was some kind of dark city with no lights in the sky, not even stars- light was all in the buildings. Place was cold. We found Necrozma up on this spire thing._

_“I thought, y’know, I was with Lusamine. I could be invincible with her there. Nah, didn’t work out so well. Somethin’ about that Necrozma, it was just too tricky and powerful for us. It shot us outta the Wormhole we came through and used us to get to here.”_

_Guzma lingered on the memory of falling in his mind before rushing to finish._

_“The kid, Moon, had been beatin’ me before that, so I shoulda been used to gettin’ beat, but this time it felt worse. It felt like I’d really messed up not just for myself but for Alola. My home turf.”_

_The ocean waves lapped at their feet causing the only sound for a few seconds. Guzma heard the waves slosh as Cyrus stepped closer to his side. They both faced out towards the ocean._

_“Do you remember Nanu mentioning what I did at the Spear Pillar?”_

_“Uh, somethin’ to do with Dialga and Palkia?”_

_“I used them, yes. Or tried to. First, I made a red chain using the power of three other legendary pokémon. With it I could control Dialga and Palkia without having to confine them into poké balls. Then I was there, on the Spear Pillar, to recreate the world. To start it over without the spirit that I then saw as a flaw, a weakness in both humans and pokémon._

_“Giratina appeared not long after I gained control of Dialga and Palkia. It broke the red chain easily and dragged me, the threat to its existence, down into the Distortion World. It is a place where time doesn’t flow and matter acts irregularly. A child and the champion of Sinnoh followed Giratina into the Distortion World. They quelled its anger but not mine._

_“I remained there in the Distortion World. With Giratina. At first I seethed, then the anger petered off, and I questioned whether I had made the right decision. Eventually I stopped thinking altogether. There was no reason to. Until the day came when a portal opened up here in Alola.”_

_Guzma digested the information slowly. To think a guy who used to have such dreams as like destroying and recreating the world would chill out like this. That he would just come out of the sky and start over. And he was right there, holding his hand, beginning to get a little awkward talking about his past._

_The whole thing made Guzma shrug his shoulders._

_“You know, you totally win.”_

_“Pardon?”_

_“You’re better than me at being the bad guy.” Guzma let go of his hand and started to walk off deeper into the shallows. “I just can’t win, I’m not even worse _than Lusamine._ I don’t deserve to be Big Bad Guzma, so here I go.”_

_“ _Hold on!_ ”_

_Cyrus splashed after him. Guzma waded deeper into the water about up to his calves. He stopped that deep to watch how Cyrus struggled to catch up to him. Being shorter, the water tread dangerously close to the edge of his shorts. It made Guzma grin a little to see Cyrus trying so hard._

_“Are you even being serious, Guzma?”_

_“Maybe a little.”_

_Cyrus huffed and grabbed him by the wrist. He was cute when he was this kind of irritated._

_“Just didn’t know how to clear the air of all that. You tried to do some big things, babe.”_

_“They weren’t for a good reason. It’s for the best that I lost my chance. Instead of pushing away spirit I should have. I should have been trying to understand it more.”_

_Guzma let Cyrus pull him back by the wrist towards the shore. On the way Cyrus seemed to notice the ominous building Guzma knew to ignore on Route Fourteen. They stopped back in the shallows letting waves lick at their heels._

_“What is that building over there?”_

_“The abandoned Thrifty Mart. Locals told them not to build it there, but they didn’t listen. Built it and right on opening day Tapu Bulu smashed it down. Ghost pokémon live there now,” Guzma explained._

_Cyrus regarded it from afar then went to put on his socks and shoes with some difficulty. Guzma pocketed his socks and slipped the shoes on wincing at the sand._

_“Guess we should go home, yeah?”_

_“Yes, let’s.”_

_Cyrus stayed close to Guzma’s side as they walked back to where the speedboat had been moored. He let anything catch and hold his attention as they walked. “Anything” would distract him from the sensation that had been at the back of his skull for hours._

_Giratina’s observing through his eyes felt much like a stare. Except said stare aimed only in the back of his head. Cyrus would take notice of it immediately when he recovered from the exhaustion upon switching back into control. As the hours went on the sensation grew worse and into a dull pain. It did nothing but tire Cyrus out to be in that constant state of discomfort._

_Direct contact worked as the best distraction, but he didn’t want to act on impulse again. Guzma was already worried enough to be continually asking about how he felt. Cyrus instead let the world around him absorb his attention away from the pain. He tried not to rely on any inward thoughts because it would mean listening to Giratina’s feedback._

_The feedback, at times, resulted in an odd feedback loop. Plain inward comments mixed in with Giratina’s own. It became hard to discern which the original comment and who it came from. It contributed to the overall headache. Cyrus wanted to enjoy the trip seeing as how highly regarded Plumeria’s mother was. Yet, to hear Giratina’s odd comments on their conversations with Plumeria’s mother had been awful._

_They made it to the speedboat. Cyrus felt a familiar tug at the back of his mind. He reached for Guzma’s hand and gripped it to ward off the switchover. Cyrus figured he had an advantage so long as he was doing something. Giratina had not been allowed to switchover the entire trip, but he didn’t want to give in._

_“Cyrus?”_

_Auditory sensations worked as well as direct contact. For a moment Cyrus imagined himself leaning into the actual sound of Guzma’s voice. He felt Guzma squeeze his hand as Cyrus had been staring intently at a rock._

_“I’m still here. I want to be here.”_

_“I gotta deal with the boat. Why don’t you,” Guzma paused, “play with wimpod, huh?”_

_With the suggestion Guzma let go and moved away. Cyrus let the movement catch his eye distract him. He watched Guzma hurry over to the boat. The suggestion made Cyrus realize how distant he had become. Not even a day and he had forgotten about his team. Even though he had watched through his eyes as Giratina fumbled to release one._

_Cyrus searched through his pockets and retrieved the correct poké ball. With not even a toss he released the wimpod which appeared on the sand. It turned to face him and shimmied its body in delightful recognition. Cyrus knelt causing the pokémon to scurry over into his arms._

_‘ _And how is this meant to be useful?_ ’_

_The voice inside Cyrus’s mind made him shiver involuntarily. The wimpod didn’t seem to notice and it inspected his hands._

_“For a variety of reasons. I’m sure you already know that.”_

_With Guzma distracted it felt less awkward to address Giratina aloud. It proved easier to handle the feedback that way._

_‘ _I don’t care for your meager knowledge on the insect. How do you expect this to be useful?_ ’_

_“Without clarifying in what way I cannot answer.”_

_Cyrus realized he had no poké beans left in his pockets. He reminded himself to pick more up the next time they had an outing. Giratina shifted itself in his mind. When it did it felt like what Cyrus could only describe as a goldeen swishing inside of a bowl._

_‘ _You think you can prolong your existence out there._ ’_

_“My time in control, yes. I dislike being pressed up against your consciousness.”_

_Giratina shifted again. Cyrus realized the bluntness of the statement. He took notice of its strangeness next and shook his head. Now he was dabbling in metaphysics. The strange would soon no longer stay the strange._

_‘ _Most creatures would call themselves lucky to have access to such knowledge. I noted your amusement at learning the Original One’s name._ ’_

_“I knew it was only a title and that it _had_ to have a name. It could only have been lost to time much like yours. On _such_ a note, there’s too much to comprehend. You know that as well.”_

_‘ _You won’t even begin. You put forth such effort in running._ ’_

_Cyrus glared at nothing in particular. The wimpod in his arms nibbled at the sleeve of his starry shirt. He wiped off the glare long enough to give the wimpod a few head rubs._

_“A recluse calling me a coward. How funny.”_

_‘ _That was not a choice of mine._ ’_

_“I beg to differ.”_

_“Babe!”_

_Guzma called to him from the bow of the boat. Cyrus stood up and felt his knees pop with the action. At least the interference caused Giratina’s thoughts to recede. With Guzma’s help Cyrus made it up the side of the boat. They started back towards Route Sixteen._

_The walk back to Po Town, and even inside Shady House, Cyrus kept himself in control with distraction. Afternoon rolled into evening and into late evening. Giratina had remained quiet, but every once in a while there was the tug. Cyrus resisted each time._

_As they were getting ready for bed the tugging sensation came again. It made Cyrus pause in putting on a sleep shirt and shudder. He shook the sensation off looking again for a distraction. Cyrus turned to where Guzma sat on the bed already ready for the night._

_Guzma didn’t notice the stare he was busy checking his rarely used cellphone. More than likely clearing off notifications. He wasn’t wearing a shirt to bed again. Something about the dryer being faulty and causing a backlog of unwashed laundry. An impulse struck Cyrus similar to what had hit him earlier in the day._

_Oh, why not? Why not? It had been a while, right? Cyrus set the shirt back where he got it and walked to the bed. He got Guzma’s attention when he settled himself into his lap. The phone was set aside on the night table. He could tell Guzma almost asked, again, for the ninth time that day if everything was alright. Guzma managed to put the apprehension aside._

_Cyrus settled his arms around Guzma’s neck and kissed him deeply. Guzma grasped him lightly about the waist. They were engrossed for a few close lipped minutes. When they broke for air Guzma brushed a few fingers against the side of his face._

_“Cyrus,” he whispered. Cyrus himself enjoyed the way it sounded on Guzma’s tongue. Perhaps something about this whole situation made him appreciate it more._

_He went for another long kiss and moved one of his hands up from where they hung around Guzma’s neck. As fingers were run through Guzma’s hair he felt the way Guzma’s body tensed beneath him. The grip on his waist tightened. Cyrus broke for air again and admired the look in his gray eyes. There was always liveliness there._

_Cyrus let his eyes flicker to Guzma’s neckline. The marks there on its right side had faded by this time to faint, faint bruises. Now, he wouldn’t, shouldn’t do that again, in the same place, it was still too soon. Cyrus adjusted himself slightly in Guzma’s lap to start a line of kisses down his neck to the opposite side. Guzma started to mutter in his native language._

_On the way, somewhere in Cyrus’s mind, a disconnect occurred. He didn’t notice when it happened or how. There just wasn’t a connected sensation or other sign to tell him of what he was doing. Cyrus was in control of his body, yes, but a change of plan happened. Instead of going for what the hickey called for Cyrus opened his mouth and bit down hard onto Guzma’s shoulder._

_It felt strange to feel flesh between his teeth yet he didn’t stop. Guzma shuddered beneath him but didn’t wrench away at first. At first, he stayed still. Cyrus kept biting down mindless in the moment._

_He lost the sensation in his jaw. Cyrus couldn’t accurately say how hard he was biting. He didn’t exactly see what was in front of him either. Parts of his mind seemed to lock out. What brought him out of the dazed state was Guzma wrenching himself away. Cyrus had been pushed back to where he would be sitting upright._

_In confusion, they stared at each other. Cyrus stayed silent and he noticed Guzma’s mouth had been moving for a while. He mouthed words but nothing could be comprehended for a few seconds. Cyrus blinked to make the sounds come back to him with the rest of his mind._

_“ _Babe,_ are you okay?”_

_As he was going to reply Cyrus tasted iron inside his mouth. It startled him into focusing more. He noticed for the first time Guzma clutched at his shoulder with his left hand. Guzma’s right hand crossed over his chest to clasp tightly over a spot on his left shoulder._

_“What have I done?”_

_“Nothin’ babe, nothin’ I can’t handle.”_

_Cyrus narrowed his eyes and sharply inhaled. He could barely remember the last few minutes. The only reminder anything had ocurred happened to be the iron taste against his teeth._

_“ _What_ did I _do_ , Guzma?”_

_Guzma hesitated then removed the hand covering where he had been bitten on the shoulder. Cyrus stared at the bite mark how it had begun to bruise and bleed. Not heavily, no flesh had been, exactly, taken off, but there were places, especially with his canines, that disturbed him. Cyrus took his sight off of it before he saw too much._

_“What have I done?”_

_Cyrus felt his shoulders go slack in a mute form of shock. Guzma covered the bite mark again. He tried to redirect Cyrus’s attention by shaking him slightly._

_“Hey, hey, I know it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t you.”_

_“But I still. I _did_ it. I caused this.”_

_“No, I know it wasn’t your fault. I’ve had worse, I can handle this.”_

_He did notice how Guzma didn’t wince or cringe at all from any pain that must have been happening. The information should have helped. Nothing broke through the fear growing inside his chest. Was it Giratina who caused this? Or was it a side effect of the possession itself? Was he actually losing his mind?_

_Guzma moved the hand on him to cup the side of his face. Cyrus refocused on him as Guzma spoke._

_“We’ll talk about this tomorrow okay? You gotta sleep, babe. I love you.”_

_Cyrus blinked and felt tears sting at the corners of his eyes. He withheld them with a deep breath._

_“Didn’t I already tell you, you’re too nice to me?”_

_“Nothing can change that, babe.”_

_Guzma didn’t move from where he sat. Cyrus closed his eyes to feel part of himself break._

_“I love you, too.”_

_“Night, babe.”_

_After a few seconds Cyrus moved away to settle underneath the bedcovers. Guzma got up to go about turning the lights off. Cyrus felt rigid and resisted the urge to shudder. Instead he listened to the sounds of Guzma going towards the door._

_Guzma stopped at the door. He turned around to walk back towards the nightstand. Cyrus heard the drawer be opened and rifled through. A popping noise happened. He felt something small crawl onto the bed. Guzma turned back and headed out the door._

_Wimpod crested over the side of his hip. It scuttled down and made the whishing noise at him. Cyrus regarded it in the half light for a few seconds. He felt tears sting at his eyes again. When he reached out for the wimpod it allowed itself to be scooped closer. Cyrus closed his eyes and let himself cry._

_Guzma took big steps to stride across the entrance hall to Plumeria’s room. He knocked a few times on the door but didn’t wait before opening it._

_Plumeria sat at her desk, wearing a silk nightcap, and typing on her laptop. She turned towards him with her mouth twisted into a frown. Guzma walked in and shut the door quickly behind him._

_“An’ what is up with you?”_

_“Uh, a lotta things at the moment. You got that medkit?”_

_Plumeria gave him a dubious look, glanced at his bare chest, and opened one of the desk drawers to get it. Guzma ran both hands through his hair while he walked to go sit on the edge of her bed. This wasn’t how he wanted to start this conversation. It was going to happen, and it was gonna be really weird to explain._

_“So, what’s- oh, _whoa._ ”_

_She had gotten up from the desk. Plumeria stopped speaking to let him explain the bite mark on his shoulder._

_“This an accident, right?”_

_“Yeah, it’s a long story. That started yesterday.”_

_“Yesterday, huh?”_

_Plumeria started getting things out of the small plastic box. She swabbed the wound to clean it. Guzma ignored the stinging sensation. It wasn’t the worst thing done to him, he told himself again._

_“Remember we went to see Malie Garden? The kid was there. Moon. She decided, or persuaded, Cyrus to go through an Ultra Wormhole. I couldn’t do anything, I just stayed behind and watched. Waited.”_

_Guzma paused and took a breath. Plumeria nodded _mhm’d_ to show she listened. At the same time she spread some disinfectant._

_“Then this, this pokémon followed them out. Cyrus knew it, and it knew him. Some legendary thing from Sinnoh. It almost took him away, back with it through the Wormhole, but it changed its mind. It changed its mind, and it _possessed_ him, Plumes. You can tell because the eyes change color, they go black and red. Not even the kid could fight it. Didn’t get the chance. And now Cyrus’s possessed, and _this happened._ ”_

_Plumeria had started to wrap the wound with bandages. There weren’t any bandaids big enough to cover the whole mark. Guzma grit his teeth, but not because of any pain._

_“Then did the pokémon do this?”_

_“No, and trust me I. I didn’t miss anythin’. I looked, but his eyes didn’t change all that much. I think it’s bein’ a bad influence, Plumes, and _I’m._ ”_

_Guzma couldn’t make himself say it. He never was one to admit to being scared. Plumeria knew that and would pick up on it. Guzma trusted she would know what he meant to say. Plumeria leaned away as she had finished with working on the bandages. She packed up the box as she spoke to him._

_“It’s not fair. You two don’t deserve this kinda weird thing happenin’ but it did. What’s tough boy doin’ now?”_

_“I told him to sleep. Said we’d talk about it tomorrow.”_

_“Y’know he might not be up for it?”_

_“Yeah. Yeah.”_

_Plumeria sat back at her desk. She closed the box and set it off to one side. Guzma stared at the door not sure how to feel. He might not be up for talking about it tomorrow, either._

_“You go get you some sleep, too. I’ll tell everyone to leave ya two alone. Is there anythin’ I should know about this pokémon?”_

_Guzma relayed the ground rules to her. That Cyrus had to be distracted in order to keep in control. He left her bedroom and walked back across taking the same stride. At the door to his room Guzma hesitated. He shook his head to clear it of doubt. When he opened the door the light from the main house spilled in. The bed was empty._

_He stared at it in surprise. Then he walked in and closed the door behind him. Guzma surveyed the room but didn’t see much out of place. He went to the nightstand to open the drawer. All of Cyrus’s poké balls were there except for one. Guzma sighed in relief and lay down on the bed. Sometime in the night he lost consciousness._

_In the morning when Guzma woke he found the bed still empty. He stretched his limbs to take up the available space. It felt out of place to have so much room. Faint memories of last night drifted into his mind. Guzma felt for the bandages on his left shoulder. They were there._

_He closed his eyes and tried to focus on better memories. The sound of the closet door being shut interrupted him. Guzma had the impulse to sit up but he fought the urge. He played dead in order to listen. There was the sound of clothes rustling. A few very light footsteps here and there. They were trying to be quiet._

_What was he being awkward for? No, he had to play this cool somehow. Guzma braced then pushed his body up to where he could see the other side of the room._

_In the dim light a pair of eyes rounded on him. They glowed red a very faint luminescence. The rest of the body straightened up out of a partial crouch. Giratina stared at him in silence._

_“I’m beginnin’ to think you’re here to ruin my days an’ nights.”_

_“The sentiment is mutual.”_

_Guzma worked his mouth into a tight frown. Then he noticed the situation with Giratina. It was a pants situation. He started to snicker but thought better of it. Guzma did his best to stifle the sound inside his throat._

_“You, uh, got that?”_

_“I can put them on, _yes._ ”_

_“Sure. Sure.”_

_Giratina went back to work. Guzma turned around to stifle a few snickers against the wall. How could anyone have that much issue with shorts? This was the worst and best thing to wake up to. Tapu help him, he hated this pokémon but man._

_He looked back around and saw the situation was half resolved._

_“You, uh, got like night vision? To see in all this?”_

_“Yes.” Giratina finally succeeded. “This is not what I anticipated but I will make do. And _you_ are not allowed to interfere.”_

_Guzma swung his legs over the side of the bed. Giratina made itself more imposing in the half-light by somehow manifesting its scraggly wings._

_“Do what now?”_

_“You will not-“ Giratina staggered all of a sudden._

_It surprised Guzma to the point where he stood up. Giratina started muttering to itself. It grabbed at its hair in frustration. The mouth drew itself into a snarl. The wings disappeared from its back as the concentration on them broke._

_Guzma took a few steps towards it. Giratina held out a hand to stop him, and he did. He watched a few more seconds of the struggle when a new noise distracted him. A familiar whishing came from the door. Wimpod scurried underneath it. Guzma watched as it tried to approach Giratina which glared at it._

_As expected, the wimpod shrank back. Guzma bent down and easily picked it up into his arms. The struggle continued until another staggered step was taken to the side. Guzma pushed the wimpod up onto his shoulder as he anticipated the sway. He caught Cyrus in time._

_“Hey babe.”_

_Cyrus opened his eyes. He stared a few seconds up at Guzma before setting himself upright with Guzma’s help. The wimpod watched Cyrus from his shoulder._

_“I decided to put up more of a fight this time. Didn’t expect that at all from me, did it?”_

_“Love the unexpected parts about you, babe.”_

_His remark caused Cyrus to grin. Guzma started to feel more relaxed with Cyrus there in his arms. Then he saw the way Cyrus’s eyes trailed off to his shoulder. The grin started to fade. Guzma fumbled for something to say, but Cyrus extended his hand towards wimpod._

_The pokémon gladly settled onto it. Cyrus cradled it to give a few pets. He then turned towards the direction of the door._

_“I’m going to see if I can fix the dryer I heard about over breakfast. It’ll give me something to do.”_

_“Right, babe.”_

_Guzma watched as Cyrus left out the door. He stepped backwards and sat hard onto the bed. Outside the thunder and rain battered against the walls of Shady House. It meant that Guzma had woken up late, or maybe Cyrus had woken up early. He breathed and popped his knuckles. There was a knot of feelings in his chest Guzma didn’t know what to do with._

_He wracked his brain for a few minutes eventually getting up empty of thoughts. Guzma went about turning the lights on to dress himself for the day. He absentmindedly put on the paint splattered shirt. In searching the closet a few things at the bottom caught his eye. Blank canvases neatly stacked against the back wall with closed buckets of extra paint he hadn’t cracked into. The canvases were something Plumeria got him once._

_Guzma took an extra few seconds to stare at them. He leaned down and grabbed as many as he could putting them to one side outside of the closet. The buckets of paint were hauled out next. Keep busy, that’s the theme for the day, wasn’t it? Keep, keep busy._

_He disappeared part of the way into the closet to search for the paint brushes._

_As Cyrus finished fixing the dryer the grunts showed surprised at how quick he had been. They crowded around him a small cluster of eager faces._

_“Dude, you’re a handy man.”_

_“Hey, could you fix somethin’ else?”_

_“Yeah, yeah, I think I got a broken thing somewhere if you’re not busy, are you?”_

_Cyrus regarded them quietly and dusted off his hands. He felt oddly devoid of emotion today. It felt like he should worry. Perhaps he would have if not for the memories of last night. They proceeded to peck at him. It made him, he would guess, fearful of feeling. The emotions stemming from the incident might be too much._

_“If you’ll lend me this toolbox then, yes, I’ll take a look at whatever you bring me.”_

_The grunts dispersed and brought back a small menagerie of broken electronics. Cyrus had to hand a few back on account of he could only work with hardware. He did however settle at the dining room table with the toolbox and remaining electronics._

_As Cyrus worked the disquiet in his mind settled into the flow of work. He remembered it had been ages since he last put his hands to work on a machine. The flow felt nice, it occupied him how he hoped it would. Rain fell hard outside the only indication of its presence being the claps of thunder._

_‘ _Do you think this will honestly work?_ ’_

_Giratina’s voice jolted him a bit from the chair. Cyrus sat back down. He made sure he was alone before replying out loud._

_“What ever could you mean?”_

_‘ _You think you can best me._ ’_

_“I did this morning, didn’t I? Hardly a problem.”_

_‘ _You do this to spite me._ ’_

_Cyrus turned over a piece of hardware he had removed from a radio clock. He rotated it a few times before discerning the issue at hand._

_“Perhaps I did. I did sleep alone last night. On a couch. Somewhere.”_

_‘ _I did nothing to you or your kind as of late._ ’_

_“Nothing active, yes. And maybe I am being a simple, spiteful human. But I don’t like what I did to Guzma.”_

_Giratina did that odd shifting inside of his mind. Cyrus couldn’t stop his hands from fidgeting as it happened. He squinted for a moment into space and remembered the iron taste in his mouth._

_‘ _What simple beings you are. How can I even understand such minuscule actions?_ ’_

_“Have some feelings for one. For another, get your head out of the lofty ideals Arceus gave you.”_

_Cyrus paused in his work as he heard Giratina growl. It rumbled the sides of his skull in a strange way. He let the sensation dissipate before snapping the radio clock back together._

_“If you trusted anyone on anything this might be the time and place to start.”_

_‘ _I’ll remember such courtesy when I take this body back._ ’_

_As if on cue Cyrus felt the tug on the back of his mind. He shook it off on instinct and frowned._

_“I’ll bargain with you for one more day. Today. Let me have today and tomorrow is yours. Even if we’re in public.”_

_The fact Giratina could tilt its head while inside his mind made his spine tingle in a bad way._

_‘ _I will keep you to your word even if that Guzma you so care about does not._ ’_

_Cyrus waited. He noticed Giratina’s presence in his mind fade little by little. It didn’t fully fade per se, but the minor amount it did felt like a huge relief. Cyrus sighed to let the peace of the moment envelope him. Perhaps he could consider what happened with a clearer mind now. Cyrus looked back down at the table and noted how many projects he had left. If he rushed he could finish in time to have a late lunch with Guzma._

_While he did rush Cyrus didn’t finish the last machine until mid-afternoon. Being so close to the kitchen he could afford to at least stay hydrated. Cyrus noticed as well that Guzma hadn’t come by the kitchen at all. When the last project was set aside he pushed back out of his chair to walk upstairs._

_Guzma’s bedroom door had been left open a crack. Cyrus pushed it back and, when it widened, the smell of paint stung his nose. He reflexively waved at the air yet more fumes replaced it. With worry Cyrus pushed the remainder of the door open._

_The first difference to catch his eyes were the canvases of varying sizes lined up against the walls. They were full of all manner of paint smears. Inside the smears appeared odd shapes that were roughly familiar. Cyrus didn’t linger too long on any one painting as he stepped farther inside. The freshness of the paint and the fumes allowed to accumulate caused his eyes to sting._

_When Cyrus refocused it was on Guzma. He sat sideways on the throne with his legs thrown over one of the arms. His gaze was fixed above and far off. Guzma’s hand raised up to allow his masquerain to alight on it. It fluttered its eye wings idling there on his hand. Cyrus couldn’t say, maybe it was the throne and steps, but somehow the way Guzma sat there made him appear regal. Lost in thought, he didn’t react at all to the door being opened._

_“Guzma?” Cyrus asked and stepped closer to the room’s center._

_The masquerain noticed him. It chittered and began to hover off of Guzma’s hand. The movement caused Guzma to break out of his trance. He blinked as if remembering where he had been all this time. His eyes followed the masquerain as it flew over towards Cyrus who extended a hand for it to settle on._

_“Oh, heya babe-“_

_In the middle of his sentence Guzma tried to sit up from the throne. Instead, he clumsily fell sideways off of it and part of the way onto the steps. He sat up cursing under his breath._

_Cyrus moved closer wincing from the amount of paint fumes that emanated from the room. The masquerain remained resting on his hand. He kept blinking his eyes as they stung._

_“Are you alright?”_

_“Tryin’ to be. Hey, babe, you look nice.”_

_Guzma gave him a smile which only worried him. This had to be dangerous. Staying in a room full of paint fumes, that definitely sounded dangerous. Cyrus helped Guzma get to his feet. He started leading him out of the bedroom._

_“Have you eaten yet?”_

_“No, nah. Been busy, busy.”_

_“So I see. Why don’t you eat with me?”_

_“Sure lemme just.” Guzma adjusted his footing for no reason. “There. Floor keeps movin’.”_

_This did not bode well at all. Cyrus led Guzma out and made sure to leave the door open wide enough for the smell to hopefully clear out. The masquerain followed them down to the kitchen._

_Cyrus situated Guzma to lean against a counter while he thought about what to make. The masquerain fluttered between them. The way it turned towards the door caught Cyrus’s attention. It seemed as if it sensed something._

_Plumeria walked through the door carrying a few empty bowls._

_“Hey, you two.”_

_Cyrus felt both relieved and anxious to see her. He remembered Guzma had his wound bandaged, but did he go to Plumeria to see about it? It was likely she didn’t know about their situation. The uncertainty would have to be ignored._

_“Plumeria, if you would. Help me with this.”_

_He gestured to Guzma with a hand. She raised an eyebrow but set the stack of bowls into the kitchen sink._

_“I went up to his room and it seems he’s been painting. A lot.”_

_Plumeria walked over and her nose crinkled. Guzma did have almost an aura of paint fumes around him. He kept staring off into space refocusing on them every few moments._

_“Oh, he’s done this before. Though I don’t remember it stinkin’ so much.”_

_“He also hasn’t eaten.”_

_“ _What?_ Oh _Tapu,_ this boy.”_

_She shook her head and went over to the refrigerator. Cyrus watched her search through it. He jumped when he felt Guzma take his hand. Guzma didn’t appear lucid yet and was speaking in Alolan. Not that Cyrus had the heart to tell him any different._

_“Do you know what he’s saying?”_

_“You two can split this.” Plumeria held out a plastic container of soup. “You just keep actin’ sweet on him til he comes outta it.”_

_Cyrus removed his hand from Guzma’s grip and took the container. As much as the last two days had been off putting this sudden situation should have felt less than worthy. Cyrus could feel trepidation in his chest. He had never exactly been a caregiver to anyone other than his team._

_Plumeria started to walk off towards the sink to hurriedly clean the bowls. Cyrus left Guzma, who had fallen silent, to open a cabinet for clean bowls. He heard the water turn off and Plumeria dry her hands._

_Halfway to the door Cyrus heard her pause. It made him glance over from where he had begun to pour out the soup._

_“He was just talkin’ about how he loves ya so much.”_

_Plumeria left out the door soon after. Cyrus stared after her dwelling on the thought a few seconds. He remembered what he was doing and went back to work._

_As they ate Cyrus kept watch on how Guzma slowly came back to his senses. The idea of food had been a good one. Guzma had to pause a few times while eating because of a rise in nausea every now and then. He kept the soup down for the most part. They eventually finished. No one else entered the kitchen it seemed they had it to themselves for a while. The masquerain settled itself down near them on a counter._

_“Sorry if I made you worry. Had to get something out of my system with paint.”_

_Cyrus noticed it was the first lucid thing Guzma had said._

_“It’s alright. I imagine I’ve made you worry, too. I had to work with some broken machines to keep myself occupied.”_

_“This whole thing’s been nuts. I thought, ya know, maybe nothin’ could beat what’s happened at Aether but this just might.”_

_They each set their empty bowls down on the counter. Thunder boomed elsewhere. Cyrus started to form a sentence but stopped when Guzma spoke._

_“We should take a walk, yeah? I figure I probably need it to clear my head.”_

_“Right. Of course. Where to exactly?”_

_“Oh, the beach. There’s somethin’ I wanna see there anyway.”_

_They put the dishes away and left upstairs so Guzma could get his jacket. The paint fumes from the bedroom had become stale. It would need a little longer so the walk would work. As he finished the thought, part of Cyrus felt nervous all of a sudden._

_The masquerain put away, the walk to Route Sixteen’s beach was uneventful. Cyrus listened and not even Giratina had anything to say. The presence was there, yes, but remained at the far back of his mind. It kept to its word for the time being. He should have relaxed._

_When the cloud cover broke the sky was dark. It appeared to be just after sunset. The day’s heat lingered in the air along with humidity. Stars began to appear but Cyrus distracted himself from the sky. He watched as Guzma led the way down to the beach, off to the side of the main path. Guzma spread his jacket down much like their date a few days before and sat down._

_Cyrus sat next to him on the jacket. Ocean waves washed back and forth across the sand a few feet from them. No swimmers shouted in the distance. Any human voices present carried down from the direction of the Pokémon Center back up the path. There was only the odd pokémon cry from the ocean._

_The sky caught his attention again. Cyrus watched as more stars emerged to glitter across the black canvas. The moon began to ascend slowly. Much like elsewhere in Alola it was peaceful. He wished he had learned some constellations._

_“Yeah.” Guzma startled him by speaking. “I wanted to see that look on your face again.”_

_The comment made Cyrus bashful, but he turned his head to look at Guzma._

_“The one you called gorgeous?”_

_“That’s the one.”_

_They each smiled at each other. Cyrus dropped his first as he reflected on last night._

_“I didn’t feel like myself, and now I don’t trust myself, Guzma. Not unless I’m distracted.”_

_Guzma turned his body more towards him._

_“I trust you, babe. If anything, I’m scared for ya.”_

_Hearing those words, Cyrus recalled what Guzma had looked like scared. Back before this on the Altar of the Sunne. Not only scared but broken at the slightest touch. He had never seen anyone so vulnerable let alone imagined he could do that to someone. Cyrus turned his body to mirror Guzma’s, but avoided his eyes._

_“There are so many things I don’t want to do, but there’s no clear answer to this. Can I even trust myself to get close to you after that? After I lost myself?”_

_Cyrus looked up to see Guzma think it over with a serious expression. Guzma extended his arms and pulled Cyrus closer into his lap. Cyrus let himself be held against Guzma’s chest._

_“Nothing’s gonna make me stop trustin’ you. Maybe it’s not right, but I love you. I’m sticking with you through this.”_

_He noticed how Guzma’s eyes burned with a bright conviction. Cyrus diverted his gaze to the ocean which reflected the stars above in a disturbed reflection. A well full of suppressed emotions sprang up in his chest. He didn’t know what to do with himself in the moment. In his mind he felt overrun with fear and sadness. Maybe worst of all love. Even through all this Guzma kept to his stubborn beliefs. The belief in them._

_Cyrus leaned up to give Guzma a kiss. When he pulled away he felt his chest shudder. Cyrus laid his head in the crook of Guzma’s neck being mindful of which one was safe. Tears crawled from the edges of his eyes._

_“I love you very much. You’re all but too kind to me right now.”_

_“Ya always say that ‘bout me.”_

_“I’m sorry. Sorry.”_

_“It’s okay.”_

_Guzma craned his neck and managed to give him a kiss on the cheek. Cyrus took a breath reminding himself he couldn’t fall apart just yet._

_“I can do this right now because I’ve bargained.”_

_“Bargained?”_

_“I had today to myself. Tomorrow it’s Giratina’s turn.”_

_Their bodies shifted on the jacket to where they could more comfortably stare out at the ocean. Both of them appeared distracted at the mention of Giratina. Cyrus forced himself to keep speaking._

_“That means all day, Guzma.”_

_“Right, right. I’ll handle it.”_

_“With care, Guzma.”_

_“Don’t ya worry, babe. You tired?”_

_Cyrus considered it and noticed that he was. It wasn’t the drag in his bones or the overall exhaustion he had first felt with the possession. He was tired in the regular way._

_“Yes, I have to say I am.”_

_“Go to sleep, babe. I got you.”_

_Initially, he didn’t quite understand what Guzma meant. Cyrus had his eyes turned towards the ocean to hide any tears that lingered at the edges of his vision. He felt Guzma play with the tips of his hair the same way he had a few nights before. Cyrus relaxed as he focused on the touch. He closed his eyes. From where his ear was pressed against Guzma’s neck he heard him attempt to hum the same song._

_It was funny really. The song had been one Guzma’s mother sang when he was little. She would sing it on good days the days she had time to make dinner at home. The song celebrated, well, life, but it also celebrated the day. All the things that had been done, accomplished. She improvised lyrics sometimes to keep it fresh. Guzma could only remember core pieces now of its melody._

_Guzma kept humming until he heard Cyrus’s breathing even out. He checked to be sure Cyrus had fallen asleep. It was nice to see a peaceful look on his face for a change. He had been gloomy and nervous the entire walk down. Not that Guzma had helped he had been busy thinking about things himself._

_He glanced around the beach as an afterthought to their conversation. With no one around, Guzma carefully lifted Cyrus in his arms. He then, just as careful, grabbed his jacket and shook out the sand. It was wrapped around Cyrus to keep the rain off of him on the walk back._

_When they did get back to the bedroom the paint smell had almost entirely gone. Guzma set Cyrus down on the bed to go about turning the lights off. He walked out to visit Plumeria about his bandages._

_“Ya feelin’ okay?” She asked him as he sat down on her bed again._

_“’Bout this? Yeah, doesn’t hurt much. If it’s about earlier, eh, I can sleep it off.”_

_Plumeria shook her head but peeled off the bandages. Guzma glanced at it out of the corner of his eye a little afraid it had gone bad. It didn’t look bad, maybe scabbed in some places, bruised. But not like out-of-a-book evil looking. He resisted sighing in relief to let Plumeria apply some salve._

_“Ya can put bandages on it tomorrow, but let it breathe tonight, alright?”_

_“Yeah.”_

_Guzma got up to leave. Plumeria stopped him with a touch on the arm._

_“You two talk about it? What happened last night?”_

_“We did. It wasn’t Giratina. It wasn’t him, either.”_

_Concern clouded her yellow eyes before she let him go._

_“Tomorrow I’m gonna take that thing out for a walk.”_

_Guzma left out the door and walked back over to their bedroom. Cyrus slept on the bed with only the jacket as a cover. Guzma closed the door shaking off his shoes. He decided it’d be awkward to not take off Cyrus’s._

_As he did so Guzma began to notice how tired he felt from today. Painting took a lot of work. He didn’t eat much today did he? There was Giratina to deal with tomorrow which sounded like an absolute chore. Guzma frowned and shook his head to clear out the worry. Worrying wasn’t like him. He lay down on the bed and pulled Cyrus closer to him._

_Cyrus jolted out of sleep. For a second he wondered if a dream had woken him, but recalled none. Cyrus thought more wondering if Guzma had been shaking him awake. When he reflected, Guzma never did that to wake him up in the morning. His habit was to take it slow as possible; had he done something again? Cyrus forced himself to become more awake and aware of his surroundings._

_They were in their bedroom. The lights were off. Guzma lay across from him on the bed. Cyrus moved slowly to push himself upright and see over Guzma’s side. He scanned the room in the half-light. There didn’t seem to be anyone or anything else that might have disturbed them._

_Cyrus decided to fall back asleep when Guzma moved. Rather, he shuddered in his sleep. Guzma curled the hand nearest to his face into a fist as he shuddered again. Cyrus watched as Guzma’s entire body tensed. This had to be a nightmare._

_He rushed himself to remember what Guzma had done for him in the past. Guzma had always tried to handle him with care when he woke from nightmares. He should try imitating something like that. Shaken by the circumstance Cyrus took a breath. He sat up fully and began to reach forwards with his hands._

_Cyrus called out Guzma’s name to coax him out of sleep._

_“-Guzma? Guzma.”_

_Guzma’s eyes opened. They went wide and darted about searching in the half light. Cyrus stroked the sides of his face to draw Guzma’s attention._

_“ _What’s?_ Where?”_

_“I’m here, Guzma. You’re here in our room.”_

_Guzma’s eyes landed on him. Cyrus gave him a small smile and Guzma began to relax. The loss in tension caused Guzma’s head to droop lower onto the pillow. Cyrus kept a smile on his face and remained upright. He let Guzma stare off into space for a few seconds. Eventually, Cyrus stroked the side of his face again._

_“What did you dream?”_

_“I don’t…remember. It was dark. I was running, I think, or maybe fightin’? You weren’t there. I think that was the scariest part.”_

_Cyrus considered the amount of fear and confusion he had seen on Guzma’s face when he woke. It couldn’t be helped if he didn’t remember; maybe it would be for the better to not talk too much about it. Cyrus settled himself back down under the jacket to reach for Guzma. Guzma wrapped his arms around him in reaction cuddling close to his chest. He closed his eyes. Cyrus moved one of his hands up from Guzma’s back to stroke fingers through the back of his hair._

_“It’s so funny how quickly the tables turn for us within a short time.”_

_“Jus’ don’t tell anyone, babe.”_

_“Hush. I won’t.”_

_Guzma nuzzled a little into his chest. Cyrus enjoyed the affection continuing to stroke through his white hair. The nightmare must have come about because of all the stress. Hopefully not a direct effect of his, well, incident. Cyrus couldn’t recall in his short time in Shady House if Guzma ever had a nightmare. It might be something to ask Plumeria about, perhaps if it happened again._

_Cyrus’s thoughts were interrupted by a muffled snore. He stayed awake in order to make certain Guzma wouldn’t have a second round. That wasn’t entirely the case, to be honest with himself; he wouldn’t get a chance to feel Guzma this close to him until the day after tomorrow._

_“I love you,” Cyrus whispered._

_Guzma of course didn’t answer. He was fast asleep which gave Cyrus a sense of relief._

_As Guzma started to wake up he realized he was still pulled in close to Cyrus’s chest. Despite the heat and sweat of prolonged close contact he found it nice. He took his time letting his senses come back to him from sleep. As a downside Guzma recalled the nightmare from last night. Or at least the pieces of darkness, running, falling, and hitting things. He remembered being alone through all of it with nowhere to run to._

_Guzma tossed the memories aside. The nightmare didn’t matter that much. He uncurled his legs to slowly start to stretch out to his full size. Cyrus stirred a little moving to where he wouldn’t get in Guzma’s way. Guzma had an idea, smirked and went to deliver a kiss on his cheek. He got inches away from Cyrus’s cheek when a voice stopped him._

_“I still don’t understand these intimate human gestures, no matter the thought I put behind understanding them.”_

_The deadpanned voice of Giratina made him move back. Other memories of last night caught up to Guzma. The ones about the agreement. He rolled his eyes and moved back to where he had been on the bed._

_“Just to be clear, again, I _hate_ you.”_

_“Be assured I know.”_

_Giratina stared at him with its red irises glowing slightly in the dark. Guzma rolled over deciding to get on with it. He paused mid-step across the room._

_“An’ I have to spend a _whole day_ with you?”_

_“Technically I could venture without you, but as to your humans’ insistence, I should not be.”_

_Guzma cursed himself then continued his way to the closet. He stared over at a lamp and flicked it on. The glowing eyes thing would be too weird to put up with._

_Giratina stayed lounging on the bed while he dressed. Guzma did his best to ignore it concentrating on clothes. He put on a clean pair of sweatpants. Reflecting, he would have to go off island with Giratina now that he thought about it. Ula’Ula was big, yes, but it did have only two cities. Akala or Melemele should work better. On that thought, somewhere on Akala, running into his mother would be terrible._

_Guzma started to pick up a tank top when he remembered the bite mark. He glanced at it out of the corner of his eye to see how bruised it remained. His hand reached for a t-shirt with a faded ariados design on it._

_Giratina hadn’t moved much on the bed when he looked again. It creeped him out for the most part._

_“I’ll be back,” Guzma said._

_As he stepped out of the bedroom he enjoyed the relief at having the stare lifted from his back. Guzma strode across to Plumeria’s room. She was fully dressed and just finishing her makeup. The plastic box of medical supplies already laid out on top of her desk._

_“Sit.”_

_Plumeria waved a hand as the other held eyeliner. Guzma sat on the edge of her bed. Where on Akala could he take that thing? There were plenty of cities, but which ones? Konikoni? No, maybe it would look “too similar” to Malie City. A tourist would say that sorta thing._

_“Guzma?”_

_Plumeria’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. She had the box in her hands one of her eyebrows furrowed in suspicion._

_“I’m fine. I jus’ gotta babysit that thing all day today, though, and I’m thinkin’.”_

_“Thinkin’ what?”_

_While she asked Guzma pulled down the collar of his shirt. He talked through her examination._

_“Thinkin’ Akala.”_

_“Heahea City would work.”_

_“Ya think so?”_

_“It was built for tourists, dude. Giratina’s a tourist.”_

_“Okay, good point.”_

_Plumeria leaned away having applied a light bandage and salve. Guzma shrugged his shirt back to where it would rest normal. He started to leave._

_“Hey, take the ferry this time. Ya wanna keep him preoccupied, yeah?”_

_“Ah, yeah. If it’s gonna be a tourist, might as well be _that_ kinda tourist, huh.”_

_Guzma grinned and Plumeria nodded. She looked him over a second._

_“You’ll be okay, Guz. But call me if it gets bad out there.”_

_“Ah, geez, who are you, my Mom?”_

_Plumeria huffed and turned back towards her desk. Guzma exited the bedroom. He braced himself for whatever he would see in his own._

_Nothing too terrible seemed to have happened. Giratina sat on the bed but was dressed out of its old clothes. It wore a white shirt with a star that looked vaguely like a mareanie seen from above. The shorts were knee length white to match the shirt. For a second Guzma wondered if anything with a splash of color was in Cyrus’s closet._

_“So, are we going somewhere, or will you keep to your gawking?”_

_“After breakfast, then we’ll talk.”_

_Giratina refused to react and stood up. It followed him downstairs where the tense atmosphere continued as they ate. The grunts kept their distance from both of them although a few greeted Guzma. They seemed more worried than afraid like they used to be. Guzma forced himself to ignore it. He concentrated on making sure none of them noticed the strange eyes._

_“Have you made up your mind?”_

_“Yeah, I have.”_

_They talked outside in the rain. Guzma didn’t want to linger in Shady House too long. He felt Giratina’s gaze on him._

_“We’re goin’ to Akala Island. Not by speedboat, though.”_

_“Then by what?”_

_“A ferryboat. You’ll have heard of ‘em, sure.”_

_They exited Po Town to begin the walk towards Route Sixteen. The drizzle fell as usual around them. Guzma made himself continue to talk. He didn’t like their awkward silences._

_“Course, we’ll still have to take the boat ‘cause the ferry’s in Malie City.”_

_“All this to get to another island?”_

_“Ya wanna see somethin’ new or not?”_

_Guzma glared over at Giratina. It didn’t show any sort of frustration in his direction. Its gaze had been directed in front of them. Guzma looked back over and saw Nanu stood outside of the police station. An Alolan meowth was at his feet probably begging for attention._

_“This isn’t who I wanna be seein’ right now,” Guzma said with a shake of the head._

_Giratina didn’t speak to agree or disagree. It must have known who Nanu was because of Cyrus’s knowledge. No way it could be confused. Guzma waited for any sort of reaction to explain the staring._

_“And just who is this miserable wretch of a man?”_

_The question alone knocked the breath out of Guzma. He reeled with surprise and realized Giratina had been confused. Guzma had to stop in order to catch himself from a burst of laughter._

_“I never heard anyone call Nanu that. _Miserable?_ ” Guzma wheezed and remembered who he was with. “ _Tapu Koko_ , I hate you for _this._ ”_

_Giratina, again, did not react much to his actions. It glanced at him as if to show impatience. Guzma regained his composure to stand up straight again. Maybe this whole interaction wouldn’t go so bad between them all. They covered the distance between themselves and Nanu._

_“Oh, Guzma, Cyrus, you’re out a bit early.”_

_Nanu spoke up when they got a few steps closer. The meowth at Nanu’s feet turned to observe their approach. Nanu began to stare only at who he thought was Cyrus. Guzma didn’t have any bright ideas as to how to deal with the explanation._

_“Just gonna go over to Akala. Thinkin’ about parkin’ the speedboat in the port while we take the ferry.”_

_“I dunno why you haven’t used it before. Mooring it in the alcove won’t do it any good.”_

_“Wait, old man did you-“_

_“-So what’s up with him?”_

_Nanu crossed his arms as he interrupted. Guzma rolled his shoulders thinking of how to explain. He could deal with his pent up frustration about what Nanu just insinuated later._

_“Guess nothin’s gettin’ around you.”_

_“He’s possessed isn’t he?”_

_Guzma gave out a loud sigh. Nanu shifted his feet squinting at Giratina._

_“Why’d you ask if you knew?”_

_“Thought I’d be polite. I’ve dealt with a few possessions in my time.”_

_“So this is an island kahuna,” said Giratina._

_It flared up its translucent black wings again. Nanu continued to stare with a bored expression. The meowth at his feet hissed as it sensed Giratina’s pressure. Nanu waved the meowth back, muttered at it, and it moved over to the side._

_“D’you know what possessed him?”_

_“I am Giratina. You will likely know of my brethren, Dialga and Palkia.”_

_“Huh, the two legendary pokémon from Sinnoh. Guzma, do I even _wanna_ know how this happened?”_

_“It’s a long story.”_

_Nanu rubbed his chin in thought. Giratina continued to try and intimidate him with its presence. Guzma had never seen it try so hard to scare anyone except pokémon. Guess it didn’t like not having that effect on people._

_“Can’t exactly help with a possession like this then. But how’s Cyrus?”_

_“They switch out sometimes. Today I gotta handle this guy though.”_

_Guzma felt the glare aimed at him for a few seconds. He kept his eyes on Nanu to ignore it. Nanu uncrossed his arms. Guzma didn’t know what to expect him to do. Sure, he was a kahuna, but not even the champion had been given a chance against Giratina._

_Nanu put one hand on his hip and gave a half smile._

_“Boy, you two make a pair when I think about it.”_

_“ _Whatever_ , Nanu.”_

_“And I take back what I said about the possession thing. The perk of dealin’ with these sorts of things is the fact I get to stop playin’ fair because it wasn’t fair to begin with.”_

_The increased intensity of Nanu’s gaze caught Guzma off guard. He whipped his head around to Giratina which had also broken out of its act to look away._

_“Means I can always get up to some foul play,” said Nanu._

_The meowth Guzma thought had slunk off sprang out of some bushes nearby. Judging by the motion it was actually using the move foul play. It aimed for Giratina arching its claws high. Giratina stared at the oncoming pokémon and started to move out of the way._

_As Giratina moved Cyrus’s body changed. The shadows at its feet, faint because of the constant cloud cover, began to move upwards. They cloaked Cyrus’s entire body in a matter of seconds. The blackened form collapsed downwards into the ground. The meowth stopped its attack as the target was lost._

_Guzma stopped paying attention to it to look for Cyrus. Giratina hadn’t done anything like that before. Since when could it do that with Cyrus’s body? Did it just melt into the ground? He looked in the direction of the police station, Po Town, and the hill nearby. Nothing weird stood out. Guzma started to call out for Cyrus until something happened in the middle of the road._

_There were a few puddles of rainwater in the road. A few feet from him a black puddle started to bubble. A figure rose up out of it vaguely human shaped. The only color on its form came from two red pinholes of light. They were where eyes should have been. As they locked eyes with him it lunged forwards to barrel into him. He couldn’t react in time to back out of the way._

_Guzma figured he should have fallen onto the muddy path. Instead, he fell backwards into blank space to hear a familiar shattering noise near his head. All of his senses became dulled in the black void except for that constant metallic ringing. The red eyes drifted somewhere above him the outline lost among all the black. Whether it was seconds or minutes the scene felt like forever._

_Another shattering happened. Guzma fell backwards onto sand. The figure stepped out of the crack in reality. Behind it the crack resealed on its own. It dropped to its knees. The shadows dripped off the body back to where they belonged on the beach sand._

_“Cyrus?”_

_Guzma leaned forward from where he sat. He hoped, stupid as it felt, that maybe Giratina would be too tired to keep this up. The ocean breeze blew by and managed to rustle up both their hair some of the sand along with it. Guzma ignored it to watch Cyrus shake his head. The red and black eyes looked up to stare back at him._

_“Even with time spent to adjust, I cannot expend much of my power in this body. To think humans would be so fragile.”_

_Guzma grabbed at some sand but resisted the urge to throw it._

_“Put the sunglasses on so we don’t have that happen again. An’ stop complainin’ about humans, ya did this to yourself.”_

_Giratina raised an eyebrow and contorted part of its mouth. Guzma had to guess the expression meant to convey confusion. Maybe annoyance would be more accurate to say. Giratina relaxed its face a few seconds later. It started to paw through pockets to find the pair of sunglasses. Putting them on it complained under its breath._

_They walked from the beach where Guzma usually moored the speedboat and out to the docks. Boarding the ferryboat went with no problem. The both of them stood near the railings on one side of the boat as it began to cruise towards Akala Island. People chattered around them none getting too close._

_An awkward silence started up that Guzma felt compelled to interrupt._

_“Have you even _learned_ anythin’ by being here? Isn’t that _why_ you did all this in the first place?”_

_Guzma felt Giratina leer at him. The sensation died off as it tilted its head a few times. Giratina stared out over the passing waves as it pondered the question. The head motions stopped after a few minutes._

_“I have seen more here than what my windows could ever offer. In Alola alone there is much to turn over in regards to the world Arceus has left. I have questioned the fragility. Why were humans and pokémon left so weak? There is talk in this mind of bonds bringing strength from humans to their pokémon. This region overflows with such power, and for that it flows with energy._

_“I have seen humans and pokémon live separately. Here they band together tighter than I have seen in my time. Perhaps that is what Arceus meant with this creation. Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit are the pokémon that compose the human spirit. Knowledge to solve any practical problem. Willpower to think for oneself and move forwards. And emotions, the most troublesome to comprehend, perhaps to tie all humans and pokémon together just as I tethered the Distortion World to this one. That is the most sense I can make of what I have seen, the most I can answer.”_

_Guzma attempted to comprehend Giratina’s speech using what he had heard Cyrus say about Alola. They sounded similar, but Giratina’s way of explaining took the long way around. It also didn’t sound as nice as Cyrus had put it._

_“Meaning… Wait, you mean that’s just a _possible_ thing you learned?”_

_“There are such things as multiple interpretations to reality.”_

_“That’s, _no,_ I’m pretty sure that’s some _philosophical kahuna-Tapu-higher whatever_ junk.”_

_Giratina turned itself to face him with a deep frown._

_“It is not “ _junk_.””_

_“I never cared for any of that when Hala was sayin’ it, I’m not gonna care when _you_ say it. I bet there ain’t no answer anyhow.”_

_Guzma matched Giratina’s unhappy look with a glare. It stared back at him a faint red shimmer from behind the tinted lenses. They glared at each other for a few solid seconds. Giratina’s gaze shifted off to the side as something distracted it. Guzma didn’t let his glare down until Giratina started to examine its arms._

_“Do I have a status condition?”_

_“Wait, what now?”_

_Guzma broke his form to bend down to see what Giratina stared at. The back of the forearm appeared to be beginning to turn red. He gritted his teeth and buried the initial angry reaction._

_“Ya didn’t put on any sunscreen, _fine_ , we can deal with this. Here.”_

_Giratina appeared to watch him curiously as he spoke. Guzma removed his black jacket to wrap it around Giratina’s shoulders. He made sure it would provide shade for any of its exposed limbs._

_“This’ll be uncomfortable, but we’ll buy sunscreen when we get there.”_

_The hostility to come up between them dissipated. In a short while, the ferryboat arrived at Heahea’s dock. Guzma led the way to a general store. After a quick and awkward application of sunscreen they stood on the sidewalk._

_Guzma figured they could visit the Tide Song Hotel first, but there was also the Hano Resort to consider. A malasada shop might not be a good idea. He didn’t exactly know how Giratina would act in a crowded space. Man, what were the precautions to this sort of thing?_

_“Guzma?” A voice asked from across the street._

_When he looked over Moon smiled at him. She wore her usual outfit of Team Skull gear. By her side stood an absol which appeared to recognize him. Guzma recognized the absol as the one she called Fortune; around its neck a life orb held on by a collar. Moon had told him many times how lucky the absol had been with it in battle._

_Fortune’s eyes moved over to warily regard Giratina. Moon walked across the street with it following closely._

_“So you’re here today?”_

_“Yeah, had to take Giratina off island.”_

_Moon glanced over at Giratina which had begun to silently accost the absol. In reaction Fortune bristled and backed closer to Moon’s side._

_“Well, you’re in luck. I’ve been asking around about this to everyone I can think of, like you said. I even went to the kahunas to see if maybe the Tapu could do anything, but it seems if Solgaleo can’t do anything about it, neither can they._

_“I was just gonna go see Colress. I went to him first, but he said he needed time to think about it. Maybe if we brought Giratina along?”_

_She ended the question with an outstretched hand gesture in its direction._

_Guzma didn’t see why not. Giratina had no objections either; it remained confident no one could release its control. All of them began their walk to the Tide Song Hotel. Getting to the third floor took some time as Giratina had to examine what it could._

_Moon entered Colress’s hotel room ahead of them. Guzma and Giratina idled outside where Guzma began to feel uncomfortable. Colress didn’t give off the same vibe as Faba, but there was something he didn’t trust about scientists like that. The ones that always came off as just too enthusiastic with things._

_The door opened and Moon let them in. Colress stood farther inside adjacent to the hotel bed dressed in his usual coat. His left hand stayed busy typing away at a screen on his right arm. He looked at each of them in turn with a pleasant smile._

_“So, you’re the ones Moon told me about.”_

_Guzma darted his eyes over to Moon. She remained off to the side but in between them. The absol sat at her side eyeing Giratina every now and then. He wondered how much Moon had actually told Colress about the, uh, situation._

_“And this is a pokémon scientist?”_

_Giratina asked the question the same time it removed its sunglasses. Based on what had happened earlier with Nanu Guzma hoped this didn’t end the same. He didn’t like the weird shadow travel thing. The action caught Colress’s immediate attention and he readjusted his glasses._

_“Fascinating. This is an active possession, certainly, though my specialties aren’t in this area.”_

_“What else is new?” Guzma asked this time._

_Colress briefly looked over at him but kept his eyes on examining Giratina._

_“In most cases the pokémon that can possess humans are part ghost type. The fact this pokémon has so much power, as Moon tells me, suggests it might _only_ be part ghost type.”_

_Guzma sighed crossing his arms. Giratina took a pause before responding._

_“I’m curious to your guesswork.”_

_“As you should be.”_

_“But haven’t you thought at all about the fact Giratina’s from _another_ timeline?” Moon piped up._

_Colress nodded his head with fingers hitting keys. It always caused a constant rhythmic beeping sound in the rooms he was in._

_“Despite this fact, Giratina _is_ just another pokémon. All laws of this timeline and reality still affect it the same. That is how it was with the members of Rainbow Rocket. That is how I managed to send them back to their own timelines, in a simple manner of speaking. There’s no reason why you should treat it special.”_

_Guzma let out a snicker. He felt Giratina let off a displeased aura at not being seen as “special.” Guzma put the smugness aside to consider the fact they could have a fight with it. It would be a long one, maybe, but it would work if Giratina could be dragged out. Ending all of this with a battle would be gratifying in a way._

_Movement from behind Colress caught Guzma’s attention distracting him._

_The pokémon seemed to manifest from just out of sight at Colress’s side. It had a purple dotted pelt, feline in shape, and stared in Giratina’s direction. The sudden appearance startled everyone, but Giratina who began to stare back. Like most trainers’ pokémon so far it did not submit under its pressure._

_“I apologize,” began Colress reasserting himself, “A companion of mine from Unova insisted I take this liepard along. He said it would deter pickpockets but I haven’t had a single issue with or without it.”_

_Moon regarded the liepard with a curious grin. Guzma squinted at it. Fortune, the absol, began to bristle at detecting Giratina’s hostility. The liepard didn’t change its stance but did rotate its ears to listen to the conversation._

_“Hey, Rotomdex, what do you know about liepards?”_

_As Moon asked the pokédex drifted out of the bag. It floated in the air and paused to scan the new pokémon._

_“Liepard, the cruel pokémon, dark type. Stealthily, it sneaks up on its target, striking from behind before its victim has a chance to react.”_

_“Another dark type?” Guzma asked. He seemed to be getting surrounded by them lately, not counting the absol Moon had out._

_Giratina became distracted by the Rotomdex. The liepard realized at the distraction the hostility would not be continued. It relaxed enough to survey the room. Guzma didn’t want to think about it, but the liepard seemed to almost stare at him in particular._

_The absol would have relaxed if Giratina didn’t hone in on its owner._

_“And what is that?”_

_“Oh, this is, I guess you wouldn’t know, this is Rotomdex. A Rotom fused with a pokédex! Unless, you wouldn’t know what either of those are. Uh.”_

_Moon fumbled under getting Giratina’s attention. It didn’t respond it remained focused on observing the Rotomdex as it floated nearby. Moon tried to explain the basics of what a Rotomdex was and could do. This had gotten off track rather fast. Guzma wondered if he should try to fix the situation._

_Suddenly he felt something rub against his leg. Guzma jumped instinctually looking down. He saw the liepard had been the one to do it. It regarded him with some sort of “affectionate” glance and sat down near his feet._

_“Oh, this is _not_ happenin’.”_

_His comment caught Colress’s attention from where he had been studying Giratina, studying the Rotomdex. Colress moved his eyes from the liepard to Guzma._

_“I’ve never seen it so taken with someone before.”_

_“Do _not_ tell me what that means.”_

_“It simply likes you.”_

_Guzma rolled his eyes taking a step away from the liepard. The pokémon covered the distance, looked from him to Colress as if expecting something. Colress’s pleasant expression changed to amusement. His mouth curved with the slightest hint of a smirk._

_“I do believe this is what people call being adopted by pokémon.”_

_“I’m not up for it.”_

_“I assure you it won’t take no for an answer. It has plenty of persistence.”_

_Guzma had avoided staring down but he felt he had to. The liepard didn’t look as smug as any Alolan meowth he had seen. It had an air of self-assurance that he guessed he could like. Guzma remembered he had been thinking of expanding his team beyond bug types back before Cyrus appeared. Back then there hadn’t been any pokémon in mind. He didn’t really have any stealthy pokémon did he? Would it work for a change?_

_As Guzma put more thought into it he had to squat down to liepard’s eye level. It met his gaze head on flicking its scythe-like tail. In the background Moon continued fumbling with Giratina’s attention. Colress placed half his attention on each of their situations._

_“So what makes you so sure?” Guzma asked the liepard._

_It flicked its ears, got to its feet, and batted at one of his pants pockets. A loud pop came out of it. They were both immediately crowded by the presence of his golisopod. The larger bug pokémon loomed over Guzma hissing in the liepard’s direction. It settled itself back down on the floor situating its paws neatly. Guzma guessed it meant to say I told you so._

_“You’re smart I’ll give ya that.”_

_The liepard meowed and rotated an ear in Colress’s direction. Guzma reassured his golisopod that there wasn’t a fight in order to replace it back into its poké ball. Colress walked over to hand him a luxury ball._

_“Thanks I guess.”_

_“If anything I should thank you for that interesting information.”_

_Guzma still didn’t get what exactly went through pokémon scientists’ minds. He put the liepard inside its ball and turned to the Giratina-Moon situation. Fortune wedged itself in the space between them. Giratina had taken one too many steps forwards._

_“Hey you, get _back._ ”_

_He reached forwards and easily dragged Giratina a few feet by the back of its shirt collar. It turned to glare at him in annoyance. Moon started to pet the back of her absol’s neck to calm it down._

_“As for what I can tell you about the situation.” Colress began to speak when they were situated. “To begin to do anything you must remove Giratina from the host, Cyrus. Then you must either catch it or send it back through a Wormhole. I don’t believe even any of my magnificent machines could manage to warp it out while possessing someone. I also don’t have any exact data on Giratina as this pokémon is elusive to examine even in our timeline._

_“If you wish to call on me for help after you have displaced Giratina then, by all means, you are free to do so. Until then, there is nothing I can do but study.”_

_Guzma didn’t come there with any expectations. He didn’t feel any more hopeless than he already had been if at all. Guzma glanced over at Moon noticing how dejected she appeared to be with her shoulders slumped. Giratina had gone to appearing expressionless. The absol nudged at Moon’s hand. She blinked and pulled herself out of her thoughts._

_“Thanks anyway Colress.”_

_All three of them left the hotel room after that. No one spoke up until they had reached the outside of Tide Song Hotel._

_“Colress was my last bet. I’m sorry I can’t help at all, Guzma.”_

_The way Moon tried to not look at him made Guzma apprehensive. He ran a hand through his hair, thinking, and then patted Moon on the head._

_“Don’t get so down about it. You’re the best champ we’ve got and ya did good for this.”_

_“Do you really think that, Guzma?”_

_“Kid, you’re the only one out here givin’ me trouble.”_

_Moon peered up at him with watery gray eyes. She looked away over at where Giratina had distracted itself. Finally, Moon turned her eyes to Fortune which appreciated the ensuing head pat._

_“If anything bad happens let me know. I’ll try to help better that, that time. Okay?”_

_“Okay, kid. Go home or somethin’.”_

_Moon flashed him a brief smile. She walked ahead of him a hand laid on the back of her absol. Guzma watched her go until she had gone out of sight around a corner. He glanced over at Giratina feeling a bit more energetic now._

_“ _Hey,_ Giratina, stop that and let’s go eat lunch. I know a place.”_

_The day continued with few problems. They explored more of Heahea City before turning back towards the docks. By the time they returned home the day had progressed to near evening. After dinner Giratina couldn’t stand the smell of sunscreen on its skin anymore and left to take a shower. It insisted it knew how to work one just to be left alone._

_It wasn’t long into the shower before Cyrus spoke up._

_“ _You have to let me speak to him._ ”_

_Giratina stared blankly into space. It had been in the middle of rinsing off some soap suds. The water continued falling to fill up the silence._

_“I’m holding you to your word. An entire day.”_

_It felt Cyrus’s presence rescind backwards into the mind space. Cyrus had a more ethereal drifting essence to himself there. The difference in their presences in the space intrigued Giratina enough to make it notice. Cyrus flitted forward again after a brief moment._

_“ _Even throughout the night?_ ”_

_“You do know how binding words can be, correct?”_

_“ _Please, you don’t understand._ ”_

_“Oh, do I?”_

_Giratina shifted where it stood in the shower to allow the water to pour over its head. The action didn’t drown out Cyrus’s voice as it wanted._

_“ _I believe you were close before. To understanding. Like what you said on the ferryboat._ ”_

_“Why should I believe you?”_

_“ _Because you took some of those words from me. Guzma wasn’t convinced because, he’s, difficult when it comes to you._ ”_

_“What is your aim here? To distract me while you slip up on me?”_

_Giratina turned its head away from the showerhead as if Cyrus could be standing there. Of course, he wasn’t, but the effect remained. Cyrus became quiet. Giratina listened to the sound of water batter against the tile. It remained poised for any interference._

_“ _You don’t understand. I don’t have a choice now._ ”_

_The world fell on its side. Giratina planted its feet on the slick floor of the tub to stand its ground. That and to avoid letting the sudden motion sickness knock it off its feet. Where ever did this human get its willpower from?_

_Through gritted teeth Giratina resisted the switchover. It tried not to, but eventually it took a few stumbled steps towards the back. Braced against a tiled corner it fought against the tug of willpower. Denizen of the Distortion World, part of Arceus’s first cast, the one locked away, the renegade for centuries, window watcher, reduced to a skidded halt._

_With vision blurred Cyrus’s body slid limply to the floor. Time ran on and sometime later he heard the bathroom door creak open. There was a mutter followed by the squeak of the faucet knobs. He hadn’t noticed the water cascading onto him his skin had become so warm. Cyrus felt arms grab at him to pull him upright. The movement jerked him out of his stupor._

_“Hey, hey, babe, it’s me.”_

_Guzma’s voice came from close by his head. Cyrus calmed down from the initial surprise and reached out with weak arms. He felt warm in the sick way. With Guzma’s help he was lifted out of the bathtub. Guzma wrapped a towel around him after drying him off a bit. Cyrus relished in the coolness of not feeling sick, warm, and damp._

_“Cy? Can you walk?”_

_“I can try.” He didn’t like how words in his mouth felt like sludge._

_They got about halfway back to the bedroom when his legs gave. Cyrus wanted to try again but Guzma lifted him up, towel and spare clothes included. He couldn’t find any strength to argue he let himself be carried._

_Once back in the bedroom Cyrus clumsily changed into his clothes. His houndoom sat on the bed dutifully holding onto the soothe bell for him. Cyrus returned it to its poké ball after taking the bell back. Guzma lay on the bed and allowed Cyrus to make himself comfortable on him. He felt tired in the wrong way._

_“So what happened there?”_

_Cyrus took a second to enjoy the fact he was being cradled by Guzma. The lights had been left on. He vaguely wished he had let his houndoom stay out._

_“I thought I could deal with a day. A day, in the longest stretch, means nothing. But I was wrong.” Cyrus stopped to draw breath. He felt his body winding down from the prolonged heat exposure. “I was very wrong. I took myself back, I was exhausted, timed it wrong. I got it all wrong, essentially.”_

_Guzma made a grunt in amusement. He drew Cyrus closer to his chest. Cyrus busied himself with thumbing around the soothe bell hearing it rattle._

_“Yeah, I missed you like crazy, too. Can’t believe it forgot sunscreen. An’ there was all that stuff with Moon today.”_

_“I think I found out what lies beyond missing someone. While I was gone in there.”_

_Cyrus shifted in Guzma’s grasp in order to kiss him. He followed it with a deeper one to be sure the point got across._

_“I’m so tired of all this.” Cyrus carefully moved himself back down hating the exhaustion. “Has it only been…two days?”_

_“I think it’s three. But yeah, it feels like ages, don’t it?”_

_Guzma ran a few fingers through his damp hair. It would stay stuck out like that as it was untamable. He didn’t mind. Cyrus closed his eyes._

_“All I want is sleep and to be with you. It shouldn’t be like that, should it?”_

_“Well, maybe the sleep thing. Ya did a lot of that when you got here.”_

_“So I did. So I did.”_

_Cyrus moved his head to where his ear would be pressed near Guzma’s neck. He focused on the breathing and other rhythmic sounds of Guzma’s body._

_“I don’t want to keep sleeping.”_

_“Go to sleep, babe. I don’t like seein’ ya tired. Gets me worried, y’know.”_

_“Is all I’ll ever do now is see you before I sleep?”_

_“Maybe you’ll dream about me, too. We’ll figure this out, okay? Can’t go on forever like this.”_

_Guzma tightened the grip across his waist. Cyrus kept his eyes closed against the room’s lights. He let his thoughts stop to try and drift off to sleep. For the moment his mind remained quiet. There were the sounds of each other. If he listened carefully the odd sound came from downstairs in Shady House. Cyrus could almost believe nothing was wrong in the first place._

_As the next morning came the room had become dark. Guzma turned the lights off after making certain Cyrus had fallen asleep. He woke up in the morning to the mostly darkness mindful of the thunderstorm above. Cyrus slept beside him meaning they both would probably be getting up late today. Wary of the fact Giratina might be taking Cyrus’s place Guzma gingerly lifted Cyrus’s body off of him. He placed him to the side of the bed Cyrus usually slept on._

_Guzma readjusted to where he could see Cyrus’s face when he woke up. He wouldn’t know who would be waking up today. Last night had been pretty desperate, pretty bad. Guzma remembered the anxiety of rushing over to the bathroom from Plumeria’s room; a grunt had overheard a loud noise, peeked in, and ran off to tell him immediately of what they saw._

_The last few days they had been able to at least plan what would happen the next day. Today there was no plan._

_Cyrus’s body shifted in the shoulders. Guzma pulled out of his thoughts to watch. When the eyes opened they were their usual blue. He exhaled in relief and scooted closer to Cyrus’s side._

_“Morning, babe.”_

_“Oh, I’m here. Good morning.”_

_They wrapped their arms around each other and stayed there. Guzma guessed they were both enjoying the time together. He enjoyed the chance to snuggle up close. Well, would have if not for another thought; that they were waiting on the invisible third person in the room. Giratina who had not spoken since last night._

_Guzma didn’t like the thought. It distracted him too much from the present. He gave Cyrus a kiss on the cheek before he spoke up._

_“Anything?”_

_“No, nothing. Not a thing. It worries me.”_

_“We can’t stay here all day, though I want to.”_

_Cyrus looked at him half of his face lit up by the dim light. Despite the sleep his eyes remained sunken almost bloodshot._

_“If it would help at all I would love to. I have no qualms with sleeping all day.”_

_“Babe, didn’t I tell you ya slept enough?”_

_“It never feels enough, but there’s also you here.”_

_Cyrus’s hand moved from underneath the bed cover to brush through part of Guzma’s hair. He smiled at the gentle touch._

_“Let’s get up an’ take it slow.”_

_Almost regrettably they both got out of bed. Guzma turned on a solitary light near the closet. They stood next to each other picking out mundane clothes for the day. It was quiet by Shady House standards; Guzma wondered if the grunts had decided to sleep in or were out somewhere. He jolted a little when he felt Cyrus’s hand reach up to touch his bare shoulder._

_Guzma titled his head down to see what was up. Cyrus tried to peer at his shoulder. He bent down to let him see by the light. The bite mark’s bruising had faded to a mottled color. It didn’t need to be bandaged anymore. Despite that it did have an ugly look to it. Guzma noticed the cold mask Cyrus put on as he drew back._

_They were halfway to the door when Cyrus stopped. Guzma noticed the odd jerk in his step and stopped as well. Cyrus gripped at the side of his head eyes intent on the floor._

_“Babe? What’s goin’ on?”_

_“That’s, an emotion.” The phantom image of black wings appeared on his back. “That’s, that has to be, _anger._ ”_

_Guzma instinctively reached out anticipating a fall. Hands grabbed at his wrists to seize them. The grip tightened beyond what he had felt Cyrus be able to do. He stared in silence feeling the breath freeze inside his chest. His heartbeat played somewhere close to his throat, or maybe in his ears._

_The pressure Giratina usually used to intimidate others seemed magnified this time. It was also entirely trained on him, at least that’s what Guzma guessed had to be happening._

_Giratina lifted the eyes up. The intensity of the red glow in the irises-_

_“Are all you humans capable of is breaking your word?”_

_Guzma yanked his hands but couldn’t pull them free. He tried to think of something to say that didn’t start with an Alolan obscenity. There had to be a back-up plan, he had to think._

_“Look, not everythin’ can-“_

_Giratina wrenched his wrists. Guzma yelped in surprise at the sudden pain. He refocused and struggled more firmly against the grip. The single action changed his attitude on the current situation._

_“ _Tapu,_ what do ya wanna hear, _huh?_ You’re not gonna listen to anythin’ I say _are you?_ You’re just some _angry lonely_ legendary _pokémon_ of _whatever_. You can get mad like the rest of us. I’m tired of it. I’m _sick_ of it. You always thinkin’ you can just do what you want.”_

_Despite the pain in his wrists Guzma pushed against the hands that held him. The strength that held him back matched his. They stood locked together gritting teeth in the yellow light. Guzma couldn’t think straight, no, he’d been holding this all up for Cyrus’s sake. This had been his breaking point if he could just grab Giratina he would-_

_“ _You want me to leave and so do I._ ”_

_“Oh yeah? Sure don’t look like it.”_

_“I can sense something here. _Help me find it._ ”_

_“An’ when did _this_ happen? Why didn’t you say so _before all this?_ ”_

_Guzma felt the hands on his wrists slacken a little. He tried to take advantage of the chance. Giratina noticed the mistake too quickly. The grip retightened._

_“Not until yesterday did I sense it. On the island adjacent- Melemele.”_

_“ _Fine._ That’s just _perfect._ We’ll go _today_ and get this _over with._ ”_

_“Happy to agree.”_

_Giratina released his wrists with enough sudden force to shove him backwards. Guzma balled his hands into fists to keep from reacting. The pain localized around each wrist. It started to shoot up his arms. Giratina’s pressure gave way and it shot him a distasteful glance. It walked past him out the bedroom door._

_When it left Guzma uncurled his fists and sucked in his breath. He examined the new bruises giving a sigh. It would be something else Cyrus would feel guilty about. If all of this ended today staying in bed might be the only thing they do for the next week. Cyrus’s idea of continual sleeping didn’t sound so bad after all._

_Giratina allowed a switchover to occur when they were on the ferryboat to Melemele. As it happened Cyrus leaned heavily onto the boat’s railing. Guzma moved closer to his side noticing the change._

_Cyrus rubbed at his face and appeared to break out into a sweat. He stared out over the ocean waves a few seconds before returning his attention to the present._

_“Guzma, are you alright?”_

_“I should ask you that, babe. Bruises ain’t nothin’ to me.”_

_Cyrus turned his head to look up at him. He had an exhausted and solemn expression in his eyes._

_“They are something to me. And, I’m fine, it’s the influx of additional feedback.”_

_“Say what.”_

_“The emotions are shared now and I. Heavily regret everything.”_

_Guzma used an arm to pull Cyrus closer to his side. He idly let his fingers toy with the soothe bell attached to one of Cyrus’s wrists._

_“I think we both do at this point. But we got this.”_

_“How do we still got this, Guzma?”_

_“We’re here. We’re not anywhere else but here. An’ we can still do something about this. That’s how it works.”_

_Cyrus buried his face in Guzma’s side. His voice came out muffled._

_“Sometimes I envy you for believing in that. For being like that so much.”_

_“It’s, uh, somethin’ I had to learn to do. Otherwise there wouldn’t be anything I could do.”_

_Guzma let Cyrus wrap arms around his middle. He messed with Cyrus’s hair in a few places again. There really wasn’t anything else to do. If this whole possession could be ended in one day then that’s what they had to do._

_The sun was bright on Melemele Island. In Hau’oli City especially where the tourists bustled enjoying the sunny weather. As noon approached many took shelter where they could get it; the beachfront near the water, restaurants, stores, and the mall._

_Guzma felt uneasy soon as he stepped foot on the island. Cyrus wore the sunglasses although allowed to be in control for appearances. As they walked farther into the city Guzma’s uneasiness didn’t shake off. Normally the familiarity of the landscape would ease him just a little. Not today._

_Cyrus held tight onto his hand. Guzma had noticed on the way there Cyrus hadn’t stopped sweating. The new thing, the emotions, must be really exhausting to deal with. That and Cyrus had to take direct directions from Giratina. It led them towards the mall where they could at least take cover from the heat._

_“There’s two floors here. Which one’s it saying?”_

_Cyrus paused to wipe sweat off his forehead with a free hand._

_“Upstairs. The sensation is coming strongly from there.”_

_Guzma walked with him closer to the staircase. He cast a glance in either direction on the way. When his eye caught the Gracidea shop he paused. He stared harder when he saw a familiar flash of long platinum blonde hair. The figure moved into view not necessarily looking in his direction. Lusamine appeared busy on her cellphone while also idly shopping._

_He realized it had to be the first time he’d seen her since Rainbow Rocket. Guzma stared a second more then pulled his eyes away. He made himself keep forwards towards the staircase. Cyrus kept pace if a bit confused as to why they had stopped._

_“Guzma, did you see something?”_

_Guzma didn’t reply until they were nearer to the bottom of the stairs._

_“It was her. Y’know, I didn’t think I’d see her again. Lusamine, I mean.”_

_His answer caught Cyrus’s attention._

_“Lusamine? That woman?”_

_“It’s not important right now, we should go.”_

_Guzma pulled at Cyrus’s hand but Cyrus didn’t move. He looked back over his shoulder in the direction of where Gracidea would be. Guzma watched him a little confused._

_“Cy, I dunno what you’re thinkin’ but we got Giratina to deal with.”_

_Cyrus stared a few seconds longer before turning around._

_“The next time, then.”_

_“What do you mean next time?”_

_“Just. Next time.”_

_Guzma didn’t understand the meaning but shrugged it off. He became distracted again as they ascended up the stairs. Giratina hadn’t given much detail about what they were looking for. The most Guzma could guess is it was an item it needed. Explained why they were in a mall. Somewhat. Maybe something that would help it go back through the Wormhole._

_A few shops lined the second floor of the mall on either side of the Battle Buffet. Patient sales clerks waited behind counters a few of which were busy. Guzma looked them over and watched Cyrus do the same._

_“So, which one?”_

_Cyrus stared blankly into space. He blinked as he refocused on the present._

_“There. Somewhere behind the glass, yes, there.”_

_As Cyrus spoke he began to move forward. Guzma followed close to his side releasing his hand. The shop was attended by a man and a woman each selling different merchandise. Noticing their approach the woman spoke up first._

_“Welcome to Antiquities of the Ages. This is a very select antique shop. There is only one of each of the treasures that you can find in our shop."_

_She gestured to the glass case beneath her. Inside of it were various orbs and artifacts each with a small label beside them. Guzma glanced at Cyrus to see him point at one orb. This one in particular had a strange golden color to it that wasn’t pristine or clean like gold should be. It was less of an orb in shape and more of an amorphous mix of pointy bits._

_“The griseous orb? That will be ten thousand pokédollars.”_

_“Ya serious?”_

_Guzma caught himself. Okay, so money was out of the equation. Sure, oh yeah, he had money, but using it here for this? He considered briefly the idea of having his golisopod smash the glass case. It could do it easy. They had done stuff like that before. This time it was for a real important reason. For money, and for the sake of Cyrus._

_“Do you need help buying that?”_

_A voice spoke from the previously vacant space at his left side. Guzma shook out of his thoughts to see who had asked. A guy he had never met before stood beside him. Could only be called a guy, really, the stranger had one of those baby faces. Made it hard to tell what his real age could be._

_He had short black hair kept under a dark red hat. The stranger smiled at him with a sleepy but calm expression. The clothes he wore didn’t match anything Alolan marking him an obvious tourist._

_“An’ who are you?”_

_The guy leaned to one side to look past him at Cyrus. Guzma just about grabbed him out of instinct._

_“Cyrus? That’s really you, right?”_

_Cyrus jolted at hearing him name. Guzma looked at each of them as Cyrus took a step back to see who had asked. His previous expression of exhaustion changed to surprise then recognition._

_“Diamond? You’re _here?_ ”_

_Diamond’s face brightened into a wide close mouthed grin._

_“I’m glad to see you’ve been let out of the Distortion World.”_

_“That’s…a long story, Diamond.”_

_“ _Hey, hey,_ can we get back to this?”_

_Guzma spoke through his teeth. Diamond drew out of his interaction with Cyrus._

_“Oh, right, only ten thousand, right?”_

_“Sheesh, “only ten thousand” _yes._ ”_

_The clerk accepted the money and handed over the griseous orb to Diamond. Guzma expected him to hand it over, but instead Diamond started to walk off with it. Cyrus followed pulling Guzma along by the hand. Diamond didn’t stop until they were off to the side of the mall’s main crowds._

_“Diamond it’s been…nine years since I last saw you.”_

_“Yeah! I’m not that little kid anymore. I became the champion of Sinnoh, but eventually someone stronger than me came along. I didn’t really know what else to do with my time so I sorta became a cook?”_

_“Cooking?”_

_Diamond smiled again a little embarrassed as he talked. Guzma listened and tried to put puzzle pieces together. So far he had “someone from Sinnoh that knows Cyrus.”_

_“You didn’t really know, but I liked making poffins for the contests. So, normally, that would mean something like a pastry chef, but I didn’t wanna stop there. I’ve been travelling around to learn things.” Diamond stopped to come back to the main point. “I’m glad to see you again. There’s things that when I was a kid I couldn’t really say or know how to say. To all that stuff you said before.”_

_Cyrus closed his eyes to sigh. He opened them again appearing a little less tired._

_“You should be happy to know I don’t believe most of that anymore. I’ve changed and, hopefully, for the better. Oh, but, Guzma. This is Diamond who, well, worked towards stopping me from doing what I wanted with Team Galactic.”_

_“A kid, huh.”_

_Diamond narrowed his eyes and frowned. With his baby face it made for a cute pout._

_“ _I’m not a kid anymore,_ although, some people still call me that. Guess I just look younger than I am.”_

_“Uh huh.”_

_“I’m twenty- _two!_ ”_

_“Sure.”_

_Guzma grinned as Diamond kept frowning at him. He heard Cyrus give out another sigh._

_“There isn’t much time for this unfortunately. Diamond, this is my boyfriend, Guzma.”_

_Silence met the statement. Guzma dropped the grin to cover part of his face with a hand. A blush heated up the sides of his face. While he didn’t look in Cyrus’s direction he thought he could feel Cyrus gawk at himself in third person. Diamond’s expression didn’t change much besides to smile._

_“That’s good news. So, a boyfriend, hm.”_

_“Don’t…say it like that, Diamond.”_

_“Can we, like, get on with this stupid thing with Giratina?”_

_Diamond perked up in curiosity at the mention of Giratina._

_“What do you mean?”_

_Guzma shook his head forcing the heat in his face to disappear._

_“It’s why we need that stupid orb in the first place.”_

_Diamond rotated the griseous orb in his hands. It was hard to do due to how many sharp ends it had. Cyrus moved to wipe sweat from his forehead again. The hand stopped part of the way across his face._

_“Diamond, this isn’t the Giratina that we know. I’m, almost, certain it would be more cordial than this one. This is a Giratina from a different timeline entirely. Its mannerisms are different. We need the orb to, ah, well.”_

_Guzma watched Cyrus take down his hand which had curled up to remove his sunglasses. The hand trembled as it revealed a miss-match of eyes; one remained blue the other took on Giratina’s unnatural black and red. Cyrus shoved the sunglasses back on after Diamond saw._

_Diamond’s face fell from its previous curiosity to concern._

_“Oh. I see.”_

_“If you would please.”_

_“But um. What happens when it gets it? Shouldn’t we not do it here? In case something weird happens? I sorta learned from last time that happens around Giratina.”_

_Diamond gave a meek laugh. Cyrus’s shoulders slumped. Guzma spoke up._

_“I know a place on Route Two. It should be big enough in case a Wormhole decides to open up out of nowhere. No one will see it either.”_

_“Please then lead. I’m tired.”_

_Guzma nodded and started off out of the mall. As he took point on the sidewalk Diamond fell into step beside Cyrus. Guzma felt he could trust Diamond. The kid didn’t seem like he was out to do anything bad. It was the first time Guzma had seen someone genuinely happy to see Cyrus. Everyone who knew of him so far always acted serious._

_Diamond decided to talk as they walked out of the city towards Route Two._

_“So, how long have you been out?”_

_“About two weeks.”_

_“ _Two weeks?_ Wow. And you don’t look like you’ve changed at all from back then.”_

_“Time is strange in the Distortion World. Before two weeks ago everything felt like, like one long yesterday. Though time has passed my body hasn’t aged. It doesn’t seem that time will catch up either.”_

_“It’s sorta weird.”_

_“It is, Diamond.”_

_Guzma stopped eavesdropping long enough to avoid a small hole in the ground. He stumbled a bit which caused a pause in the conversation._

_“Guzma?”_

_“Nothin’, it’s nothin’.”_

_They continued to walk. He felt a concerned stare center on his back. Guzma ignored it as he veered off the dirt road to start treading into the grass. A little farther in and he went left towards a rise in the land. He didn’t like being this close to his house. They didn’t have a choice._

_Guzma pointed out after a while a small cave entrance. It went back about fifteen feet inside the side of the hill. To anyone else the entrance would have been invisible. There were many tall bushes around to obscure the entrance. All three of them examined the interior of the cave._

_“How’d you find this?” Asked Diamond._

_“When I was a kid I followed a pokémon in here. Decided not to tell anyone else. Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here, either. We should be safe”_

_Cyrus walked deeper inside and turned around. He held out his hands._

_“Diamond, if you would.”_

_Diamond hesitated a few seconds. The sleepy expression on his face became focused, serious even with the baby face. He hesitated so long Guzma almost wanted to kick him into walking. Diamond stepped forward and handed over the orb before he could._

_Cyrus took it and turned it over a few times awkwardly holding the pointed ends. He stopped, stared, then without hesitation the orb was absorbed into his chest. Nothing happened as it pierced through the skin. No blood spilled out of his chest from it. Despite the fact nothing happened Guzma broke out into a cold sweat. People don’t just absorb ancient artifacts and expect nothing to happen. Especially not possessed people._

_Stillness came over all of them as they waited. Elsewhere Guzma could hear pokémon cries from the grass. A few people’s voices came down from above on the hill. He didn’t hear himself breathe, he didn’t want to take his eyes off Cyrus._

_Cyrus finally moved to take a clumsy step backwards. His back arched from a sudden jolt. Cyrus’s mouth opened in a soundless cry of pain. Giratina’s scraggly black wings reappeared to begin shifting their shape. They became more vivid in color against the darker cave interior. The wings changed to look more like the six spindly legs Guzma had first seen Giratina with. Cyrus’s body jolted of its own accord in odd spurts as he began to levitate._

_Guzma called out once starting to move forwards. Diamond grabbed him by the arm. He wanted to fight against the grip but Cyrus grew worse. He levitated higher into the air. An aura grew around him. The body jerked, again, and the sunglasses slid off onto the dirt. His eyes weren’t his anymore, and Giratina’s red irises glowed brighter than before. The once uniform little lines under the eyes appeared more like black sludge._

_Cyrus’s mouth, seemingly aware of being open, twisted shut. The body struggled to breathe right._

_“ _Cyrus!_ ”_

_Shadows of the cave coalesced to draw themselves towards Giratina. With them it started to generate the aura to become darker and darker. Aspects of the face appeared to distort as if looking for something it couldn’t see. After a few more seconds Guzma could see cracks appear in the white skin._

_“Now this has been worth it.”_

_Giratina spoke though the mouth didn’t move. The cracks widened in the side of Cyrus’s face. Skin, Guzma could only call it skin, cracked and fell off like parts of an eggshell. Underneath a familiar golden mandible started to jut outwards._

_“ _Stop this!_ ”_

_“Not now, you.” The disembodied voice addressed him._

_“ _Stop it!_ ”_

_The red eyes lazily drew themselves down from where they stared into space. The head cocked to one side. Guzma tried to find more words. None would come out. He felt useless as he locked eyes with Giratina._

_“Giratina!” Diamond yelled from at his side._

_The eyes proceeded to slide over to him. Guzma darted a glance towards Diamond to see him reach for a pants pocket._

_“Why should I care what you say?”_

_“Because I have Dialga here with me.”_

_When he said the name Diamond pulled out of the pocket a master ball. Guzma and Giratina both stared at it. The breath caught ragged inside of Guzma’s chest. _Tapu, let this work. Even if it’s a bluff let it work.__

_“If you stop possessing Cyrus I’ll fight you with Dialga. I’m sure you want to after all this time.”_

_Giratina straightened its head from the cocked position. A cascade of flakes fell away from its cheek to reveal more of the mandible. Blood now could be seen seeping through some patches of clothing._

_“To test my renewed power against Dialga… Fine. I will let this body rest. Then our fight will commence. I no longer have any need for the body, but I shall not have you double back on your word. I stay.”_

_Diamond relaxed his stance and put the ball back. Giratina watched him to assure itself he wouldn’t try anything. It lowered onto the ground closing its eyes to concentrate._

_The orb was ejected from the same place on the chest. As it did so the dark aura dispersed immediately. The vision of the golden mandible curving outside of Cyrus’s face faded. His body fell to the cave floor due to no tension to keep it standing._

_“Cyrus!”_

_Guzma ran over to pull Cyrus up into his arms. He breathed but not clearly and didn’t respond. Part of his face had become smeared with blood._

_“We have to get him to-“_

_“ _There’s no time!_ We don’t know how badly he’s hurt.”_

_“Then _where_ Guzma?”_

_“I know a place. I know a place, just follow me.”_

_Cyrus woke to pain. He didn’t get to open his eyes before he could feel it. The foreign sensation of painful bolts ricocheted here and there between specific parts of his body. Cyrus winced as he opened his eyes. They focused on Guzma seated across from him in a chair._

_Guzma met his gaze, smiled, and leaned down._

_“Hey.”_

_“Guzma.”_

_Cyrus frowned at the way his voice sounded. It felt raw like he had been screaming._

_Guzma noticed it as well._

_“Hey, don’t talk so much. You got pretty messed up. Do you remember?”_

_Cyrus blinked trying to remember. They had been at the mall to find the object Giratina so desperately wanted. Diamond bought it for them, they went somewhere, and terrible things had happened. Cyrus closed his eyes as he remembered pain. He moved slightly the movement causing his body to remind him as well._

_“Okay, I can’t deal with this, hold on.”_

_Guzma stood up from the chair. Cyrus caught a brief glimpse of the room they were in; it looked like a bedroom with soft blue striped wallpaper. That explained why he wasn’t in a hospital bed. Guzma reached under the bedcovers to move him gently over. With enough room Guzma crawled into bed with him. Cyrus didn’t mind how crowded it became despite his body’s soreness. Being close to Guzma after everything was a comfort._

_“Where?”_

_“Where are we? Uh. My house, my _parents’_ house actually.”_

_Cyrus followed the impulse to try and look over Guzma’s shoulder. It just so happened to block sight of the rest of the bedroom from his view. Although he tried Cyrus’s weakened arms didn’t allow for him to lean up high enough. He fell back against the bed in a huff. The soothe bell let out a faint rattle to accent the effort._

_“Save your strength you need to rest.”_

_Cyrus wanted to argue that they should be trying to hurry things along. He wanted to mention Giratina’s presence in his mind. It swam at the far back putting as much space between them mentally as it could. Being so close to getting it out made him impatient. Cyrus watched Giratina going silent for a few seconds._

_He supposed he could appreciate the fact they bored it now. That was the emotion Cyrus picked up on- boredom and restlessness. He couldn’t tell Guzma. His mouth didn’t allow for much speech._

_Guzma adjusted to where he curled more around Cyrus. Cyrus gave in and used Guzma’s chest to rest his head. He closed his eyes in order to focus on other things to help ignore the pain. Guzma’s breathing, his close heartbeat, the strange way the pain had localized inside of his limbs._

_How deep did the pain go? Not bone deep, no, somewhere in the middle of the flesh. Nearer to the skin. Not tendons, no, and luckily not nerves. He didn’t know how he knew the difference there just was one. Cyrus distantly felt fingers touch his cheek. He almost stumbled awake but relaxed as the fingers stroked his face gently. Cyrus let his mind wonder to fall asleep._

_The second time Cyrus woke the pain felt less intense. He eased into a stretch bumping slightly against Guzma. Guzma yawned apparently having taken a nap alongside him._

_“How ya feel?”_

_“Tired.” His voice didn’t sound as raw._

_The response made Guzma give him a grin. He loved that grin._

_“And…hungry.”_

_The second response made Guzma let out a small laugh._

_“ _You_ have an appetite after all that?”_

_“You have _no_ idea.”_

_Guzma laughed a little more then started to move back. Cyrus stopped him with a loose grab. Guzma changed from amused to confused. He leaned back to close the gap. Cyrus held a resulting kiss there as long as he could. It made Cyrus notice the copper taste on the back of his teeth. He ignored it to let Guzma go._

_Cyrus absentmindedly stretched out his legs which had been kept curled up. Pain, again, reminded him not to move so casually. He winced and tried to push himself upright._

_With Guzma out of the way he saw more of the bedroom. It didn’t have much to it. There were windows that let in the light of a sunset. A simple desk and chair, a large flat screen TV situated into a corner and near the bed a row of trophies. Most were colored bronze._

_“Yeah this is, this is my old room,” Guzma said noticing him look._

_Cyrus surveyed the rest of the room to his right. A boombox sat atop a simple end table next to the door. He would have been more curious if his stomach didn’t gurgle absurdly._

_“C’mon you.”_

_Guzma extended his hand. Cyrus took it and went to stand. He stopped to note the numerous bandages wrapped around his arms. In fact, he felt a large bandage of some sort on the left side of his face. He let the information sink in before completing the action of standing._

_The shock of being on his feet for the first time in several hours took him by surprise. Cyrus tightened his grip on Guzma using both hands as his legs wobbled. He regained enough composure to straighten up._

_“Can ya walk?”_

_“I can walk.”_

_“For some reason I don’t believe you.”_

_“I just need a hand. An arm, rather,” Cyrus added._

_He turned towards the door. Guzma kept pace with him as he walked not commenting. After a certain point the pain ceased to catch Cyrus’s attention. It faded to the background along with the other aches his body gave him. Cyrus turned the knob to open the door up into a living space._

_It appeared to be a living room with an open kitchen facing towards the door. There were couches, a TV, and an out of place bag of golf clubs in a corner. Cyrus couldn’t tell much, but at a glance it seemed they had been gathering dust for a long time. And placed haphazardly over by the front door sat the griseous orb. Seemed it had been dropped off there and left alone._

_Inside the kitchen Cyrus could see Diamond alongside Guzma’s mother. She dressed in a simple tropical smock with her hair in the same messy bun as last time. Awareness of the mother made him alert. Guzma must have noticed a change in his stance._

_“My Dad’s not here. He’s off doing…something, I can’t remember.”_

_“Guzma?”_

_His mother called from over her shoulder._

_“Yeah, Ma, he’s awake! And he’s hungry!”_

_She laughed as she replied._

_“That’s fantastic to hear. Weak wills make weak stomachs.”_

_Cyrus took the compliment in silence. As he stood still the pain in his feet began to flare up. He bee-lined for the table situated in front of the kitchen and sat down. Guzma followed allowing himself to be yanked along._

_“I’m glad you brought Diamond along, he makes for a great help in the kitchen.”_

_“Ah, Ma.”_

_“I appreciate the chance to learn something new.”_

_Diamond piped up as he peered around Guzma’s mother. Cyrus met his gaze and nodded. He didn’t know what to make of him. To run into Diamond, to see him after all this time felt miraculous. Never did Cyrus consider that one day he would dine with him. Thinking about it that way, he didn’t think he would have a lover, either._

_“You look okay,” said Diamond._

_Cyrus realized that was directed at him._

_“…Thank you.”_

_Guzma moved over a chair to in order to sit beside him. Cyrus reached over to him in order to hold his hand. The action caused another rattle from the soothe bell. Guzma laced their fingers together._

_“I’m not sure what to say,” Cyrus started in a low voice._

_“You don’t gotta say anything.”_

_Cyrus let out a soft sigh. He began to process all that had happened that day so far. For the most part he felt tired from it. Cyrus wanted today to be over. For Giratina to be gone. This moment in this house felt like an odd vacancy in the present._

_Guzma’s mother gave a few directions to Diamond. They seemed to be reaching a high point in their cooking. A lovely scent began to waft through the entire house. Guzma’s mother started to sing as she stood over a pot. Cyrus recognized a few notes and glanced at Guzma._

_Guzma caught his glance. He smiled back at him his mouth curving open in a grin. The song happened to be the same one Guzma tended to hum along to. Cyrus turned his attention back to the kitchen in order to listen. Maybe it happened to be the familiarity but it helped to relax him._

_As her voice faded away Diamond’s picked up. Recognition rang inside of him clear like a bell. Cyrus found himself squeezing Guzma’s hand._

_“What is it?”_

_“I…haven’t heard that in so long. Listen.”_

_Guzma looked from him towards Diamond. Cyrus began to explain in a hushed voice Guzma had to lean down to hear. Diamond sang an old Sinnoh tune. Normally it would be sung at spring festivals, but Cyrus remembered it could be changed to fit any season. While the core of the lyrics celebrated the arrival of the season it also referenced the great beginning. The gifts of the lake guardians, the time and space guardians, all of it in little pieces._

_They separated to enjoy the singing in silence. Cyrus leaned to where he would rest shoulder to shoulder with Guzma. His previous restlessness disappeared. The song ended at one point._

_“Lovely that was just lovely, Diamond,” complimented Guzma’s mother._

_“Aw, thanks.”_

_Diamond sheepishly grinned and finished what he was doing. The food was divvied out onto plates. Everyone sat around the table. Before Cyrus began on his food Guzma’s mother gave him a set of pain pills._

_“Can’t take these on an empty stomach. And you’ll need to sleep some more.”_

_“But-“_

_“ _-No_ buts. If you really have to go somewhere, like Guzma has told me, you must take one more nap before you go. _That_ is my condition.”_

_Cyrus let his shoulders slump as he agreed. He swallowed the pills and began to eat. Guzma’s mother started on other topics allowing Diamond to ask questions. It turned out he had only been in Alola about a week. There were still aspects of culture he didn’t quite understand. Cyrus ate in relative silence as did Guzma._

_After Cyrus finished he lingered at the table. The sun had gone down. By this time he would enjoy going to bed, but he would have to awaken sooner than expected. The anxiety of what Giratina would be doing made him linger._

_Eventually Guzma made the decision to leave for him. They retired to his bedroom with Guzma’s mother calling out goodnight. Diamond mentioned he would help her clean the kitchen._

_Cyrus slid down onto the bed with a tired sigh. He turned towards the wall not wanting to face the windows. Suppose sleeping in a windowless room had rubbed off. Guzma turned off the overhead light to follow him into bed. He hugged Cyrus close to his chest. The pain didn’t come numbed as it was by the medicine._

_“Do you wanna talk about it?”_

_At Guzma’s question Cyrus hesitated. He closed his eyes. They should talk about it a little, right?_

_“It’s come back to me in pieces. The pain was immense.”_

_“It was enough to make some of your blood vessels pop, that’s for sure.”_

_“And this? The side of my face?”_

_“That uh. Giratina did that. Your face it just…fell away.”_

_“So that’s what it was.”_

_Cyrus moved his feet nervously. He tried not to think about what the side of his face would look like without the bandage._

_“I remember suffocating the most. I, the moment Giratina seized control, I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t see, I couldn’t feel, all I could do was hear. I could hear you, and I tried to scream back. I don’t, like to say it, but I tried. But nothing happened.”_

_Guzma tightened the arms around his waist. Cyrus shifted to where he rested his back more comfortably against Guzma’s chest. He heard Guzma move slightly to plant a kiss against his cheek. Guzma spoke into his ear his voice low even though there was no need._

_“I couldn’t do anything, either. Diamond had to do it for me. It feels like. I feel so _useless_ in all this.”_

_“You aren’t useless. If you hadn’t been there I shudder to think what I. What could have become of me? Really, I might have given up entirely.”_

_Cyrus felt Guzma move to nuzzle the side of his neck. He tilted his chin up to enjoy the contact. Guzma moved to leave a kiss at the corner of his jaw._

_“Nah, you’re too stubborn.”_

_“You can say that of me?”_

_“Yes, I know you, you’re too stubborn. Even when you think you aren’t.”_

_Guzma moved his head back. Cyrus let out a small laugh. He reached backwards with a hand to feel for Guzma’s face. Cyrus carefully moved the fingers up in order to brush a few through Guzma’s hair._

_“You think too highly of me.”_

_“Oh, don’t I? And I’m countin’ that laugh.”_

_“Do as you want.”_

_Cyrus smiled and relaxed in Guzma’s arms. He let his thoughts trail off with conversation. The anxiety and restless gradually grew fainter into an abyssal sleep. He pushed himself towards it._

_Then, in a brief passing of time, Cyrus felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes confused as why he was awake. It felt as if he had just fallen asleep. Guzma’s hand ran down the length of his arm from his shoulder._

_“Hey, babe.”_

_Cyrus moved to where he could be upright. Pain greeted him immediately reminding him of the circumstances the same way it had hours before. He frowned against it but forced himself to become more awake._

_“Let’s go, please.”_

_Guzma helped him out of the bedroom again. No lights were on inside the house. Enough moonlight spilled through the windows to illuminate the dark interior. Diamond sat up from sleeping on one of the two couches. Despite rubbing sleep from his eyes the sleepy expression remained on his face. Cyrus remembered he had always looked that way._

_“Are you ready?”_

_“Yeah just,” Diamond yawned, “just gimme a second.”_

_Cyrus sat at the table feeling the soreness in his feet try to give him trouble. Guzma went outside pulling out his cellphone in the process. Cyrus watched as Diamond gradually rose from the couch and over towards him._

_“Do you really have Dialga with you?”_

_Diamond brightened up at the chance to talk. He stood nearby taller than Cyrus remembered._

_“Yeah. I, after I fought Giratina, I stayed away from Spear Pillar for a while. I didn’t know if Dialga or Palkia would show up if I went back. It also just didn’t feel right after everything that happened. Eventually, I just went to go check it out anyway, curiosity maybe, and there was this doorway. I went through it to see Dialga._

_“I thought about all those things you said. What Cynthia said to me afterwards. At the start I just wanted to keep Sinnoh safe. Then I realized there was a lot more to it than that. I saw Dialga and thought about time. Like, what it meant to spend so much time travelling around Sinnoh with just me and my pokémon. The time spent getting along with everyone. I decided to do that with Dialga, too. I’ve been showing it different places and different regions because, maybe, it hasn’t done that before. Taken the time to do anything other than watch it.”_

_Diamond stared up from where he had begun to look intently at the table._

_“Oh, I’m sorry for talking so long.”_

_“No, no, it is fine. I would like to hear more when this is all resolved and I am rested.”_

_“Do you want to see Dialga?”_

_Cyrus leaned away from where Diamond had started to reach for a pocket._

_“I do not think it wants to see me that much.”_

_“Oh, well, I’ve-“_

_Guzma opened the front door. He tried to work his voice to be between a shout and a whisper._

_“Hey, Moon’s here so let’s go.”_

_They both got up from the table. As they did so another bedroom door opened. Guzma’s mother stepped through her white hair down from its bun. She appeared to have just gotten out of bed._

_“Wait a minute.”_

_She stepped quickly through the living room to Cyrus. He accepted a small bag of pain pills as she explained what to do with them. She smiled and patted his cheek before returning to her bedroom._

_Cyrus pocketed the bag thinking about how he would have to pay her back for the help. Being doted on like this left him with a strange feeling. He walked outside with Diamond. Diamond paused at the door to lean down and pick up the griseous orb._

_Moon was standing a few feet from the house beside a charizard. Solgaleo sat beside her as well. She appeared to wear the same outfit as last time. The expression on her face narrowed into seriousness._

_“Guzma, who’s that?”_

_“Oh right, uh, this is Diamond. Someone Cyrus knows.”_

_Diamond walked over to give Moon a smile. She looked him over briefly but seemed to be worried more about Giratina than a new person. Cyrus noticed how she was trying not to stare at him in particular._

_“I’m Moon the champion of Alola.”_

_“Wow, I was about your age when I became champion of Sinnoh.”_

_Moon raised her eyebrows in surprise distracted from the current circumstance._

_“You were a champion? How long?”_

_“Yeah. For about five years, then another kid beat me.”_

_“Another kid?”_

_“Guys, can we go? We have to fly to the Altar. Right, Moon?”_

_Guzma glanced around impatient. Moon nodded stopping herself from asking another question. She directed everyone to their pokémon. Cyrus would ride on the charizard with her again while Solgaleo carried the other two. As they rode through the air towards Poni Island Cyrus felt Giratina stir. If he had to describe it, Giratina swam near the forefront of the metaphorical fish tank._

_They landed on the Altar of the Sunne in the middle of night. The sky clear above them showed a multitude of stars. The Altar retained a solemn air about itself as the breeze blew past. They all dismounted the charizard dismissed. Moon stood off to one side of the stone plateau with Solgaleo._

_Guzma pointed out the crack floating in midair. He informed Diamond that’s where the Wormhole would open. Diamond stood across from it with the master ball in hand. He handed the griseous orb off to Guzma._

_Cyrus went to stand in the center of the Altar feeling uneasy. Giratina focused itself in the forefront which broke him out into a sweat. The headache from earlier that did came back. Cyrus tried to divert his attention to ignore it. Guzma began to walk towards him then stopped. He raised his chin as he spoke._

_“You first, Giratina. Ya get the orb after.”_

_Silence answered him. Cyrus closed his eyes as he waited. He emptied his mind to watch what would happen from it. Within a few seconds a rush rose up from its depths and crevices. It scared him as he thought Giratina was trying to take control._

_Cyrus fought and felt himself stumble around in the process. He kept his eyes closed to focus on the wrestling sensation. The sensation surpassed him in a sudden flurry. Cyrus felt his body tense up all at once. There was darkness, the sensation stopped, and tension left his body. Cyrus fell to his knees in reaction._

_“Babe? Babe, hey, speak to me.”_

_Guzma knelt in front of him when he opened his eyes. Cyrus stared a moment concentrating. He listened harder for anything inside of his mind. No odd sensations or feelings or thoughts he had to fight to ignore came. Cyrus refocused his attention on Guzma’s worried face._

_“It’s quiet.”_

_The worried frown on Guzma’s face changed to a smile. Cyrus returned the smile then wrapped his arms around Guzma’s neck. He let himself be pulled into the tight embrace. Relief flooded his system as it felt like a weight had been literally lifted from his mind. Cyrus moved his head from Guzma’s neck to kiss his face._

_Perhaps he lingered there too long. Guzma broke away with an embarrassed grin._

_“C’mon there’s _kids_ here.”_

_“Fine, fine, can’t argue with that.”_

_Guzma laughed briefly before a roar came from the direction of the sky. They looked up to see a large dark shadow soaring near the stars. It glided down low enough to reveal itself as Giratina in its original form._

_“Babe, we gotta move.”_

_“I apologize but…I can’t exactly feel my legs right now.”_

_“What?”_

_Giratina let out another impatient screech. They were in the middle of the potential battlefield. Guzma rose to a squat and scooped Cyrus up into his arms. They moved off to the side near Moon and Solgaleo. Together they all began to watch what would happen._

_Diamond waited patiently until they were well out of the way. He threw the master ball which opened with a loud pop. Out of it Dialga’s large blue and silver frame emerged firmly planting its four feet onto the stone surface. At seeing Giratina Dialga let out a screech which Giratina returned._

_Giratina positioned itself opposite to Dialga levitating due to its changed form. The pokémon stared at each other unmoving. A rising pressure grew between them. Diamond held up his hand from where he stood far behind Dialga._

_“Aura sphere!”_

_Dialga opened its mouth a ball of bright blue energy coalescing within. Gemlike parts of its body began to glow along with it. Across from Dialga, Giratina parted its golden mandibles to charge its own attack. They fired off around the same time the glowing balls of energy clashing in the center._

_Giratina began to turn to shadow._

_“Dragon claw!”_

_Dialga moved forwards but didn’t hit Giratina before it disappeared. The pokémon dropped into a black miasma on the stone floor. Dialga whipped around rather fast for its large size and bulk. Looking harder everyone could see Dialga levitated a few feet from the ground. Diamond looked around as well for where Giratina would reappear._

_A cracking noise came from the air above Dialga. As it tilted its head upwards the air above split open allowing Giratina to dash through. It swept past Dialga wounding it in the attack. The pokémon cried out but focused its attention again on Giratina._

_“Flash cannon!”_

_Dialga reared itself back slightly. The blue crystal from the center of its chest began to glow again with a bright silver light. As it fired Giratina whipped to the side. Its entire body glowed with a sudden red aura. Earth penetrated through the stone beneath Dialga and wounded it._

_Diamond’s voice cut through Dialga’s cry._

_“Dragon claw!”_

_Dialga this time darted forwards one of its front feet upraised. Giratina went to move back farther into the sky turning to shadow as it did so. It did not move fast enough to avoid the attack and screeched as it disappeared._

_“Wait, Dialga, just wait. Listen for that noise, you know the one.”_

_Diamond spoke calmly although he could be seen sweating in the moonlight. Dialga drifted closer to the Altar its back towards the Wormhole rift. A few parts of its body radiated a blue glow as it prepared itself._

_The shattering of glass came from its right. Giratina streaked out of the broken reality a blur of black and red. Dialga turned in time to face Giratina head-on._

_“Now! Roar of time!”_

_Giratina heard the attack order and attempted to veer off track. Dialga reared its head back to unleash the unfathomable noise. Giratina took the full force of the attack judging by its pained roar. It stopped midflight its form still dripping with shadow. Dialga stared it down having to recharge after the attack._

_They all watched as Giratina writhed in the air a few moments. It disappeared into shadow after recollecting itself._

_“Same as before.” Diamond grinned in uncertainty. “Maybe this isn’t so hard.”_

_Dialga observed the open space around the Altar. Everyone listened for the telltale noise. It didn’t happen again until a few minutes after the roar of time. Giratina emerged in the space behind Dialga and nearest to the Wormhole. Using its six legs it pried the Wormhole open._

_“Wait!” Diamond called out to stop Dialga who had readied for an attack._

_Giratina turned to stare over at them. Off to the side, Solgaleo nudged Moon’s hand similar to a few days before. Giratina began to utter a low rumbling roar from deep within its throat._

_“ _My kin the time-streamer….I realize now you could never exactly be like that Dialga…..your eyes are too far travelled….but I realize I might have been wrong on many decisions….Where I thought I was always Just in those decisions…__

_“ _I should have heeded your warning that day….Perhaps this future could have been avoided entirely….But I thought, like always, it was another jab at my sunken misery in that place, that Distortion World where I was tied…I thought nothing of the Dialga who always took what time deemed as would happen attempting to tell me to avoid what would happen….I took light of it and treated it as a game like everything else…._ ”_

_Giratina turned to vanish into a flash of light. The Wormhole dwindled down to its regular size awaiting another interloper. Dialga and Diamond visibly relaxed as the battle ended._

_“Is that it?” Asked Moon._

_“Yeah, Diamond is that it?” Guzma this time._

_Diamond looked over at them with a broader smile._

_“I think so.”_

_Guzma and Moon noisily let out sighs of relief._

_“Ugh, legendary pokémon are such a pain!”_

_“Guzma, don’t say that! Solgaleo’s right here!”_

_“He’s not a pain, though. He doesn’t count.”_

_“ _Guzma!_ ”_

_Diamond turned his attention back on Dialga. The pokémon stayed hovering over the stone plateau its eyes on him. It expected him to speak. Diamond walked forwards the master ball in hand._

_“That was interesting wasn’t it? Thank you for doing that for us, I’m certain you didn’t really expect it to go that way. But you got to see Giratina! Or, a Giratina, I guess. And over there’s Cyrus, _our_ Cyrus.”_

_They both looked in the direction of Cyrus. He and Guzma had settled onto the floor of the plateau. At being addressed Cyrus sat up a little straighter in Guzma’s arms. He looked relieved if still battered from the numerous bandages on his arms and legs. Cyrus tried to appear put together despite the bandage on his face. Guzma squinted suspiciously at Dialga._

_“I told you he’d change for the better. And he does look better, right? I think this place is good for him.” Diamond took another step closer to Dialga staring up at it. “I think…with this it’s fine if I release you. I didn’t really know when to do that, but I think this is a good sign. Yeah. If you want poffins, or anything, you know to come find me, okay? I’ll almost always be ready.”_

_Diamond opened the poké ball. Instead of recalling Dialga inside of it he twisted it at the hinges until the master ball broke in half. Dialga let out a low rumble giving a nod with its head. It turned skyward, and after arching into the air a few feet, disappeared into a flash of blue light._

_“Dramatic, the both of them.”_

_“Guzma, you’re pretty dramatic too.”_

_“Moon, I am….” Guzma paused. “I _haven’t_ been recently.”_

_“Oh, right, sure.”_

_“Just, would you call a charizard already? I wanna go home. I’m done.”_

_Moon laughed hard for a few seconds. She recovered enough to step away to call a charizard with her pager. Guzma directed his attention towards Cyrus who had begun to nod off._

_“You alright? Can you walk?”_

_“Not really,” Cyrus replied sleepily._

_“Y’know what, I don’t believe you. I think you just wanna be carried.”_

_“And I think you’re right.”_

_Cyrus turned his head to flash Guzma a smile. Guzma rolled his eyes but gave a brief laugh. He easily picked Cyrus back up again as a charizard soared in from the night sky above._


End file.
